Pokemon Journey Sinnoh Arc
by powerstaark
Summary: Harry Rowan is the Grandson of Professor Rowan and travels through Sinnoh on his Pokémon journey with his Starter Pokémon, Riolu. Alternate anime universe including canon characters. Inspired by The Road to be a Pokemon Master series written by FanaticLAguy06.
1. The Journey Begins

**This kind of story has been tried countless times and I know that a lot of writers never complete a Pokémon journey. However I was inspired to give it a go by** **FanaticLAguy06, one of the few writers who was able to complete a journey through an entire region and is still going to write stories about travelling through several more.**

 **This story takes place in an alternate version of the anime universe. I've decided to enable Pokémon to use six moves per battle with seven moves being the absolute maximum and only used if I feel the seventh move is vital for the outcome of the battle.**

 **Please review and I hope you like the story.**

Harry Rowan was the grandson of Professor Rowan. Tomorrow was going to be his tenth birthday which means that his grandfather would finally allow him to choose his Starter Pokemon and begin a journey. Harry sat in his room with his eyes glued to the television screen.

"And Cynthia has sent out her Lucario to face off against Bertha's Golem!" the commentator's voice blared through the television and Harry grinned when he saw the two women battling. The first woman, Bertha, was rather old, late sixties or early seventies and looked more like a harmless grandmother than a member of the Elite 4. The second woman, Cynthia, was tall, slender and extremely beautiful with very long blonde hair, with fell down her back and over one of her piercing grey eyes. The camera returned to focus on their Pokemon. One looked like a turtle made out of heavy stones and the other looked like a bipedal jackal, much like the Egyptian god Anubis. Harry was focussed mainly on the Lucario.

"And Golem is down and out!" yelled the commentator, "Lacking Rhyperior's Solid Rock, it was unable to withstand Lucario's Aura Sphere!"

"Well done, Golem," Bertha recalled her Pokemon and although Cynthia was in the lead, she smiled at her challenger, "And well done to you too, young lady. But I saved my most powerful Pokemon for last! Hippowdon, let's go!"

A large Ground type that looked like a hippopotamus, exploded out of the Poke Ball and landed on the battlefield. Lucario looked weary from her battle with Golem but launched another Aura Sphere. Hippowdon grunted and stumbled backwards but shrugged off the attack and smirked at Lucario as if to say "Is that all?"

"Hippowdon, Yawn!" Bertha ordered and Hippowdon yawned. Lucario began to get drowzy.

"Lucario, use Flash Cannon!" Cynthia yelled. Lucario shook her head, opened her mouth and fired a silver beam at Hippowdon. Once again Hippowdon stumbled back, but quickly recovered. Lucario then collapsed as she succumbed to the effects of Yawn.

"Hippowdon, use Slack Off!" called Bertha and Hippowdon closed his eyes and glowed white for a moment. When the glow faded he looked like he had only just entered the battle. Meanwhile Lucario was still fast asleep on the other end of the battlefield.

"Lucario, return," Cynthia held up her Poke Ball and the Aura Pokemon disappeared in a red beam of light. Cynthia smirked at Bertha as she took out another ball, "Garchomp, battle dance!" A large creature that looked like a cross between a dragon and a shark, burst out of the Poke Ball and roared at Hippowdon. "Dragon Rush!"

"Iron Head!" Bertha countered. Garchomp was surrounded by blue light and dived at Hippowdon. Hippowdon became surrounded with silver light and lunged forwards with surprising speed. The two Pokemon collided and the explosion sent both of them skidding backwards, "Now use Earthquake!" Hippowdon stomped on the ground and it began to shake.

"Garchomp, jump and use Brick Break!" Cynthia countered and Garchomp leapt into the air to avoid Earthquake. One of the fins on her arms glowed white as she dived down at Hippowdon.

"Ice Fang!" Bertha ordered and Hippowdon reared up as his large teeth turned to ice. He chomped the frozen fangs onto Garchomp's fin and she roared in agony.

"Flamethrower!" Cynthia yelled and Garchomp fired a stream of flames from her mouth right into Hippowdon's face. Hippowdon released her and stumbled back. "Now Dragon Claw." Garchomp swept her other arm forwards, although this time it was only the sharp claw on the end rather than the fin on her arm that glowed. She slashed Hippowdon in the face, hard enough to knock him off his feet.

"Hippowdon, Slack Off!" Bertha ordered again. Hippowdon healed himself again then bellowed at Garchomp, demanding a greater challenge.

"Harry!" called Harry' mother, "time for bed!"

"Hang on, mom!" Harry yelled back, without looking away from the screen, "Just let me watch the end of this battle!"

Eventually Hippowdon and Garchomp broke away from another collision of Iron Head and Dragon Rush. Garchomp fell onto her knees in exhaustion and Bertha smirked at Cynthia.

"Slack Off!" she called again and once again Hippowdon started to heal.

"Quick, Dragon Rush!" Cynthia commanded and despite her exhaustion, Garchomp smashed into Hippowdon yet again whist enveloped in blue energy. Hippowdon was so surprised that Garchomp had hit him before he even finished his Slack Off that he flinched. Cynthia took advantage of the opening, "Draco Meteor!" Garchomp shot a huge, yellow orb into the air. The orb exploded and meteor's rained down on Hippowdon creating a huge explosion. Cynthia gave her next command before the smoke had even cleared. "Giga Impact!"

"Quick Iron Head!" Bertha yelled as Garchomp surrounded herself with purple and yellow light and dived at Hippowdon. There was no time for Hippowdon to do anything except intercept Giga Impact with another Iron Head. The two Pokemon collided for the last time. Giga Impact was even more powerful than Dragon Rush so after a short struggle, Garchomp overpowered Hippowdon and sent him flying across the battlefield. Hippowdon didn't get up.

"Hippowdon is unable to battle!" cried the judge, "Garchomp wins! The victory goes to Cynthia!"

The crowd erupted into applause. In his bedroom, Harry sat back on his bed and grinned as he watched Cynthia congratulate her exhausted Garchomp.

"Time for bed," said his mother and Harry jumped; he hadn't even noticed her enter the room. She switched off the television then the light. Harry' father peered in and smiled.

"You've got a big day tomorrow, kiddo," he said.

"I know," Harry said.

"Good night, honey," said his mother.

"Night, son," said his father.

"Night," Harry said and his mother switched off the light.

* * *

When Harry woke the next morning he eagerly dressed, including his favourite scarf and hat and darted downstairs. He wolfed down his breakfast, ignoring his father's scolding when he spilled milk on the table and ran all the way to his grandfather's laboratory.

Harry slowed down when he arrived. Professor Rowan had been expecting him and greeted him warmly.

"Harry!" he said jovially, "Ready to begin your journey!"

"Yes Grandpa!" Harry said, "This is the best birthday ever!"

"Well, come in!" Rowan stepped aside and Harry entered. He had been in the lab many times and knew his way around. Rowan brought a few Poke Balls to his desk. Harry raised an eyebrow.

"I thought there were only three Starter Pokemon," he said.

"Normally yes," agreed his grandfather, "But I captured this Pokemon when I was doing research at Mount Coronet last month." He opened all four Poke Balls. "You know Turtwig, Chimchar and Piplup." Piplup and Chimchar waved and Turtwig smiled; all three of them had met Harry the last time he visited the lab. "But you haven't met this little guy." Rowan opened the fourth ball.

The Pokemon inside looked very similar to Cynthia's Lucario, only much smaller and without the spikes on its hands and chest. It looked around, then up at Harry nervously.

"Riolu," said the Pokemon.

"Wow!" Harry said excitedly, "You found a Riolu!"

"Indeed," Rowan smiled, "I thought you would like him. But which of these four do you like enough to take as your Starter?"

Harry examined the four creatures. While Turtwig, Chimchar and Piplup all seemed comfortable in his presence, Riolu looked nervous. Harry ran through what he knew about each species. Turtwig was a Grass type with good defences to make up for its mediocre speed. Chimchar was the agile one with a focus on attacking rather than defending. Piplup was not very fast but was capable of taking hits and had decent offensive power. As for Riolu, Harry' knowledge about that species was sketchy, although he knew it was a Fighting type. The Emanation Pokemon seemed like the most interesting choice to him.

"I'll go with Riolu," Harry decided and looked at Turtwig, Chimchar and Piplup, "Sorry guys." The trio looked crestfallen. Riolu looked rather surprised.

"Very well," Rowan said and recalled Riolu before handing Harry the Poke Ball, "I have another birthday present for you." He went over to a shelf and picked up a small red device. Harry recognized it.

"You finished the pokedex?" he said excitedly.

"Indeed," Rowan handed him the device, "It has data on every known species of Pokemon, even those outside Sinnoh. You can also find a Pokemon's movesets, types and stats." Harry looked at the device then smiled at his grandfather.

"Thank you, Grandpa," he gave the old man a hug. Rowan wasn't the kind of man who felt comfortable about hugging but since he probably wouldn't see his grandson for a long time, he hugged back.

"You'll need a lot of Poke Balls too," Rowan said and held out five, "These will get you started but you should buy more regularly."

"I will," said Harry, "And I'll make you proud of me." Rowan smiled and nodded. Harry waved and ran out of the lab.

* * *

After saying goodbye to his parents and stocking up on items at the Poke Mart, Harry left Sandgem Town. He found an isolated spot outside the town and opened Riolu's Poke Ball. The Emanation Pokemon emerged.

"Rio?" it said. Harry scanned it with his pokedex.

" _Riolu, the Emanation Pokemon. Riolu has the ability to feel the emotions of other creatures. It can walk for a day and a night without stopping for rest._ "

Upon further examination, Harry confirmed that his Riolu was male and knew the moves Quick Attack, Hidden Power and Brick Break. Satisfied, Harry put away the pokedex and knelt in front of Riolu.

"Hello, Riolu," he said, "I'm Harry and I'm your trainer. I hope we can make a great team."

Riolu just looked at him. He didn't say or do anything until Harry began to feel awkward. Riolu's lip curled slightly. Harry realised what he was doing.

"Oh, you can feel my emotions so you're making this awkward on purpose!" he exclaimed. Riolu nodded, still smiling rather cautiously, "Well now that the greetings are out of the way, I think we should get going." He held out his Poke Ball. Riolu shook his head. Harry raised an eyebrow, "You want to walk?" Riolu nodded, "Well I suppose that's not surprising since your species can walk a day and a night without rest." Harry put the Poke Ball in his backpack and then held out a hand to Riolu. Riolu looked at the hand for a moment, then shook it and smiled a bit more genuinely this time.

"Riolu," he said.

"Come on then," said Harry, "Let's have a great journey together."


	2. Battling and Catching

Harry didn't have a great sense of direction, but he had a map of the region to help him find his way. Riolu wandered alongside him, taking in the scenery with an innocent smile.

"Okay," Harry said, "the nearest Pokemon Gym is in Oreburgh City. We could stay the night in Jubelive City and then it's about three days walk from there."

"Rio, Rio," Riolu flexed his muscles slightly. Harry smiled and put the map away.

"I know you can travel for a day and a night," he said, "But I can't."

Suddenly there was a rustling in the bushes. A small Pokemon that looked like a blue and black lion cub appeared. It looked at them.

"A Shinx," Harry brought out his pokedex.

" _Shinx, the Flash Pokemon. When in trouble it glows and the extension and contraction of its muscles generate electricity._ "

"Well it's not glowing now," Harry examined the Shinx, "How about we try and catch it?" Riolu looked at him, then at the Shinx.

"Shinx!" said the Flash Pokemon and stretched its legs. Electricity sparked and Harry took that as a sign that it was ready to battle.

"Riolu, use Quick Attack!" Harry ordered and Riolu darted forwards and slammed into Shinx. The Flash Pokemon quickly recovered and became surrounded by electricity. It then lunged forwards and slammed into Riolu with astonishing strength considering its tiny size. Riolu crashed into a tree. "Are you okay, Riolu?" Riolu struggled to stand up then fell on one knee. Shinx turned up its nose and turned away. Riolu angrily picked himself up.

"Rio, Riolu!" he called to Shinx. Shinx looked back, smirked and then leapt at Riolu, bearing its small fangs.

"Hidden Power!" Harry called and Riolu glowed white for a moment before firing white orbs at the Shinx. The Flash Pokemon was hit in mid-air and fell to the ground with a surprised yelp, "Quick Attack!" Riolu darted forwards and slammed into Shinx before it could recover. Harry threw a Poke Ball. The ball sucked Shinx inside, wobbled once, twice, three times then went still. "Yes!" Harry grinned at Riolu, "Well done, Riolu. We caught it."

"Riolu," Riolu smiled and nodded then winced slightly.

"That Spark attack hurt didn't it?" said Harry, "I don't know how it had so much power." He checked his pokedex.

" _Shinx's Special Ability is_ _Rivalry. This increases its Attack power when it is fighting an opponent of the same gender but decreases it when it is fighting an opponent of the opposite gender. Rivalry does not activate at all when battling a genderless Pokemon._ "

"That explains it," Harry said, "So this Shinx must be male." He took out a Potion and sprayed it on Riolu. The Emanation Pokemon smiled gratefully and stood up straight again, "Come on, let's go."

Eventually Harry stopped for lunch. He gave some Pokemon food to Riolu, then opened Shinx's Poke Ball. Shinx looked rather disgruntled.

"Hi," Harry said. Shinx turned away. Harry offered him some Pokemon food. Shinx sniffed it curiously, then bit his hand. "Ow!" Shinx smirked and turned away to find his own food. Harry looked at his bleeding hand.

"Riolu?" asked Riolu.

"I'm fine," Harry assured him, "But that Shinx isn't very friendly." He bandaged the bite and started to eat, "Just make sure he doesn't run off will you?"

"Shinx!" Shinx looked annoyed. He considered running off to be a sign of cowardice.

"Excuse me!" said a voice and Harry stood up swiftly as a ten year old girl approached him, "Hello, I'm Hayley."

"Hello, I'm Harry," said Harry.

"I want to battle with you," Hayley said simply. Harry glanced at Riolu and Shinx. Shinx's eyes instantly lit up and he darted forwards.

"Okay, Shinx is ready," Harry said shrugging, "How about you Riolu?" Riolu looked up and wiped the last of his food away, before nodding. Harry turned back to Hayley "Two on two?"

"Right," Hayley nodded, "Go Kricketot!" A small Bug type Pokemon appeared. Shinx stretched his legs and sparked eagerly. Harry scanned Kricketot with his pokedex.

" _Kricketot, the Cricket Pokemon. It has small legs and stumbles often. When it does so its stiff antennae sound like a xylophone._ "

"Alright Shinx use Spark!" Harry ordered and Shinx lunged at Kricketot.

"Bide!" called Hayley and Kricketot tensed and glowed slightly. Shinx slammed into Kricketot and knocked it backwards but judging by the lack of damage, it seemed Hayley's Kricketot was female.

"Do it again, Shinx!" Shinx hit Kricketot with another electrically charged tackle and Kricketot skidded backwards.

"Let 'em have it, Kricketot!" called Hayley and Kricketot released a powerful blast of white light. Shinx was thrown off his feet and crashed to the ground.

"Shinx!" Harry cried. The Flash Pokemon did not respond.

"Great work, Kricketot," said Hayley, "Now return." Kricketot disappeared into its Poke Ball.

"Shinx, you have a rest," Harry recalled his Electric type, then turned to Riolu, "Your turn Riolu." Riolu nodded and stepped forwards.

"Since you're using a Fighting type, I'll use Starly!" Hayley released a tiny bird like Pokemon which landed on the ground. Harry scanned it too.

" _Starly, the Starling Pokemon. Weak individually, Starly often form groups but will bicker amongst themselves if a flock gets too large._ "

"Weak individually huh?" Harry said to himself, "Alright then Riolu, Quick Attack!" Riolu shot towards Starly, leaving a white trail behind him as he ran.

"Dodge it, Starly!" called Hayley and Starly flew into the sky to avoid the Quick Attack, "Use Wing Attack!" Starly's wings glowed white and it dived down before slamming into Riolu and knocking him off his feet.

"You okay?" Harry asked and Riolu picked himself up. That Wing Attack hurt, but he was ready for more, "Hidden Power!" Riolu obeyed.

"Dodge it and use Wing Attack!" Hayley commanded and once again Starly dodged the glowing orbs and lunged at Riolu, with its glowing wings outstretched.

"Riolu, dodge it!" Harry called and Riolu somersaulted over Starly to avoid the attack, "Hidden Power!" This time the Hidden Power struck Starly and sent it sprawling, "Good work. Now use Quick Attack!" Riolu slammed into Starly before it could recover. "Finish it with Brick Break!" Riolu jumped and raised a hand, intending to strike Starly with a powerful chop.

"Starly, Double Team!" called Hayley and Starly split into a dozen copies. Riolu's Brick Break passed harmlessly through one of the copies. The Emanation Pokemon looked around. Harry wasn't sure what to do, "Wing Attack again!"

"Starly!" Starly slammed into Riolu and he hit the ground hard.

"Riolu!" Harry knelt beside the Emanation Pokemon. Riolu was unconscious.

"Yay!" cried Hayley, "Great work, Starly!" Her Pokemon landed on her shoulder and rubbed its head against her cheek affectionately.

"You have a rest, Riolu," Harry said and put Riolu back in his Poke Ball. He looked at Hayley. She was still congratulating her Starly, "Congratulations," Harry said simply.

"Thanks," Hayley replied and recalled her Pokemon. There was no need for either of them to say anything else. Harry turned and walked away.

* * *

When Harry arrived in Jubilife City, the first thing he heard about was the Pokemon contest taking place there. More interested in battling than in contests, Harry paid no attention to it, other than noting that the blue haired girl was quite cute. He rented a room in the Pokemon Centre for the night.

Harry thought about his battle with Hayley. It was clear that she wasn't much more experienced than he was, but she had beaten him without losing a single Pokemon. It was one thing to study Pokemon. Battling with them was very different.

* * *

Harry was lost. The map wasn't really helping; he'd never been great at reading them. Riolu was doing his best to help but there was very little he could do.

"Damn," Harry growled, "Oreburgh City is in the East but I have no idea which way we're going. A compass would be useful right now. Or maybe a Nosepass or Probopass."

Harry sat by a river and let Shinx out for some fresh air. The proud Electric type still refused to eat out of his hand, but on the bright side, he had never disobeyed him in battle.

Suddenly something moved in the water. Riolu, being the most observant partially thanks to his connection to Aura, noticed it first.

"Ri!" he called and pointed at the water, just as a weasel like Pokemon emerged. Harry took out his pokedex.

" _Buizel the Sea Weasel Pokemon. Buizel spins its twin tails like a propeller and rides river currents with incredible speed!_ "

"Bui," said the Buizel, nodding to the trio, before going to a tree and picking a berry. It munched the berry nonchalantly.

"A Water type would be useful to have on my team," Harry said, but let the Buizel finish its meal first, "Hey Buizel, want to battle?" Buizel glanced at him, then at Shinx and Riolu. Shinx sparked slightly. Buizel looked a little intimidated by the electricity but shrugged it off and stepped forwards.

"Bui!" cried Buizel and shot a Water Gun from its mouth at Shinx.

"Dodge it and use Spark!" Harry ordered and Shinx avoided the Water Gun, shrouded himself in electricity, and charged. Buizel jumped out of the way and spun around, shooting a Sonicboom from its twin tails. The attack knocked Shinx right into the river. Harry hoped Shinx could swim.

He could. Shinx emerged a moment later, soaking wet and furious. Buizel grinned and then surrounded itself with water and lunged, using Aqua Jet.

"Spark!" Harry called and Shinx intercepted Aqua Jet with an electrically charged tackle. The water around Buizel conducted the electricity and the extra boost from Shinx's Rivalry enabled him to send the Sea Weasel Pokemon flying. Harry threw a Poke Ball. It wobbled three times, then went still. Not one to cheer or punch the air, Harry just smiled as he picked up the Poke Ball. He tried to pat Shinx's head gratefully but the Flash Pokemon shrugged him off, so Harry decided to just recall him.


	3. Little Monkey

Harry was getting close to Oreburgh City, it had taken him four days to get this far, a whole day longer than he thought it would. Harry had never realised travelling could be so stressful. Riolu had sensed that his trainer was in a bad mood and had opted to go into his Poke Ball for a while to give Harry some time to himself. It was thoughtful but it had the opposite effect of what was intended. Harry just felt grumpier since Riolu didn't have to do any of the walking.

"I need to get a bike at some point," grumbled Harry, then stopped when he found himself facing a cliff. He took out his map and brightened when he realised that Oreburgh city was on the other side of the cliff. There was a cave, man made by the look of it, that, according to the map, led right to the city. Harry went into the cave.

The cave itself was man made but, presumably to avoid disturbing the wild Pokemon, nobody had put lights along it. Fortunately it was a fairly small cave.

"Hey kid!" boomed a voice and Harry jumped as a burly hiker approached him, "Gave ya a fright didn't I?" the man boomed and slapped him on the back cheerfully, "The name's Gerald. Wanna battle?" Harry hesitated.

"I'm in a bit of a hurry," he said, "But a one on one match would be okay."

"You're on," bellowed Gerald, "Go Machop!" A small, muscular, grey Pokemon in the vague shape of a human child but with a short tail appeared.

" _Machop the Superpower Pokémon. It's powerful muscles never get sore no matter how much they are used in exercise_."

"Riolu go!" Harry released Riolu.

"Machop use Karate Chop!" called Gerald.

"Brick Break, Riolu!" called Harry. In the dim light it was difficult to see their Pokemon collide but two yelps of pain confirmed that both Pokemon had chopped each other at the same time. "Hidden Power!" The white orbs lit up the cave slightly as they hit Machop and sent it sprawling.

"Machop use Submission!" bellowed Gerald. Machop leapt at Riolu, grabbed him and rolled along the ground before hurling Riolu into the wall. Riolu collapsed with a moan of pain. Machop then winced as Submission's recoil effect kicked in. "Let's finish this with another Karate Chop!" Machop prepared to chop Riolu again.

"Quick Attack!" Harry ordered. Riolu reacted swiftly, lunging directly at Machop and slamming into it before Karate Chop could connect. Machop crashed down on its back. Riolu landed and waited for Machop to get up. It didn't.

"Well whaddaya know!" chuckled Gerald, "The little whippersnapper's stronger than I thought. Guess I shouldn't have ordered Machop to use that Submission." He recalled his Pokemon, "Good battle kid. I have to say, I'd love to have a Riolu of my own. How about I trade you Machop?"

"No thanks," Harry said, "There's no way I'm trading Riolu."

"What about my Graveller?" Gerald asked.

"I said no," Harry said firmly. Gerald opened his mouth to make another offer, "I'm not trading Riolu. He was my very first Pokemon, and I won't give him away to anyone."

"I'll treat him right," Gerald said.

"Sorry," said Harry. Gerald's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Alright kid," he said, "That little whippersnapper means a lot to you don't it?"

"Yeah," Harry said, "And I don't think I'm going to make a habit of trading Pokémon anyway." He walked away and Riolu, sensing he was in a better mood, walked beside him.

* * *

When Harry and Riolu emerged from the cave they found Oreburgh City in front of them. It wasn't a very clean city but Harry was glad to see it nonetheless.

As Harry entered the city he found people complaining about stolen food. He ignored them at first but his ears picked up the name of a Pokemon species that he had always been quite fond of.

"It's not my fault that Chimchar keeps stealing my food!" said the owner of a grocery store. Harry approached the man who was speaking to a married couple who were complaining about his lack of fruit.

"Excuse me," said Harry, "Did you say Chimchar?"

"What?" the store's owner glared at him, "Yes, there's a Chimchar gallivanting around the city, and it keeps stealing my bananas." He turned away. Harry didn't press him any further. He was suddenly very excited and turned to Riolu.

"I've never heard of a wild Chimchar coming to a city before," he said, "They usually prefer to stay in the mountains, like your species."

"Rio, Riolu?" Riolu asked.

"You're wondering if I want to catch it." Harry deduced and Riolu nodded, "Of course. But I'm going to need you to help me find it."

* * *

It was evening and there was no sign of the Chimchar. Harry decided to wait at the grocery store.

There was a racket in the back room. Harry had not bought anything in order to save money and was just wandering around, hoping the Chimchar would show up. He looked up when he heard yelling and cursing from the food shops owner.

"That's our cue," Harry released all three of his Pokemon, "Shinx and Buizel, I need you two to go around and cut Chimchar off. Riolu and I will take the kitchen." The pokemon nodded and darted between the legs of outraged customers while Harry hurried to the back room.

"Somebody stop that Chimchar!" roared the owner. Harry and Riolu burst into the back room which was a complete mess. A lot of things in the room were burned which must have been caused by the rogue Chimchar.

"Rio!" Riolu leapt to the open window.

"What the hell are you...?" the stores owner began when he saw Harry.

"You said you wanted somebody to stop Chimchar and that's what I'm trying to do," Harry said swiftly. He joined Riolu at the window.

A small monkey with a flame burning on its backside was skilfully climbing the wall opposite. It was carrying a bunch of bananas in one hand. Normally a Chimchar could scale a sheer wall with ease, but since this one was carrying the bananas at the same time, it wasn't moving as quickly as it normally could. Harry looked down the alley and saw Buizel and Shinx arrive.

"Buizel use Aqua Jet!" Harry ordered and Buizel surrounded himself with water and shot up towards Chimchar. He collided with the Chimp and knocked it off the wall. Chimchar landed on its feet, still holding the bananas and sprinted down the alley only to find Shinx in front of it. Riolu jumped out of the window and landed behind it. "Chimchar! You can't go around stealing people's food! What are you even doing in the middle of a city?"

"Chim, Chimchar," Chimchar responded and held out the bananas. Harry grimaced and looked at the angry shop owner, who had joined him at the window.

"I guess Chimchar really likes bananas."

"Just get rid of it!"

"No, I'm going to catch it. This is an extremely rare opportunity." Harry turned back to Chimchar. "Look Chimchar, I want you to give this man his bananas back."

"Char, har!" Chimchar shook its head and clutched the bananas to its chest. Harry groaned.

"How much for the bananas?" he asked the owner. The man stared at him then grunted.

"Two pounds," he replied.

"Done," Harry paid him and looked back at Chimchar, "Chimchar, I can pay for your food. You don't have to go around stealing it. If you come with me, I'll buy you more bananas. What do you say?" Chimchar looked thoughtful. Then it looked at Buizel, Shinx and Riolu.

"Chimchar," it pointed at Riolu.

"You want to battle Riolu?" Harry asked and Chimchar nodded, "Okay. Buizel, Shinx return." Both Pokemon disappeared into their Poke Balls. Chimchar threw the bananas at Harry and he caught them. Chimchar faced Riolu. Harry scanned it quickly with his pokedex.

" _Chimchar, the Chimp Pokemon. Chimchar is an excellent climber, able to climb steep cliffs and walls with ease. Its flames go out when it falls asleep._ "

"Use Quick Attack!" Harry called. Riolu darted towards Chimchar but the Chimp Pokemon leapt and clung to the wall before shooting small fire balls down on Riolu. Chimchar then let go of the wall and hit Riolu with a Scratch attack. "Hidden Power!"

"Riolu!" cried Riolu and shot white orbs at Chimchar. Because of the narrow space between the buildings there wasn't much space to move but Chimchar made up for this by climbing up the wall again and shooting another Ember down at Riolu.

"Riolu, dodge it!" Riolu back flipped away. "Shoot it down with Hidden Power." Riolu's next Hidden Power knocked Chimchar off the wall, "Quick Attack!" Riolu slammed into Chimchar before it even landed, knocking the wind out of the Chimp Pokemon and sending it sprawling. "Go, Poke Ball!" The Poke Ball opened, sucked Chimchar inside, closed, wobbled and went still.

Harry climbed out of the window and hurried to the ball. He looked at Riolu.

"It took my grandfather years to catch this Pokemon but thanks to you, I got one within my first week of being a trainer!" Harry grinned widely at Riolu who grinned back, "Well done, Riolu." The two of them left the alley. Riolu suddenly remembered the bananas. He doubled back and snatched them off the window sill before returning to his trainer's side.


	4. Oreburgh Gym

Having spent the last four nights in a sleeping bag, Harry was glad to be able to get a room at the Pokemon Centre. The next day he spent the morning with his four Pokemon.

"Well done, Chimchar," he said as the Chimp surrounded Buizel with Fire Spin, "Looks like you've mastered Fire Spin."

"Chim," Chimchar smiled. Buizel used Aqua Jet to put out the Fire Spin. Due to his typing it had merely been uncomfortable rather than painful, which was why Harry had asked him to be Chimchar's target to practice her Fire type moves on.

"Alright guys, let's take a break," Harry said. He gave Chimchar a banana while the other three Pokemon ate Pokemon food. Once they'd finished Harry said, "Who's ready for our first gym battle?" The Pokemon all nodded. Harry recalled Chimchar, Buizel and Shinx. Riolu walked alongside him as he headed to the gym.

* * *

Harry looked at the large gym, which was made out of stone. It was fitting since the Gym Leader Roark specialized in Rock types. Harry looked down at Riolu who nodded. Harry knocked. The door opened and a man with long green hair looked down at him.

"Hello, I'm Harry," said the boy, "I'm here for a battle with the Gym Leader."

"Give him five minutes," said the green haired man and disappeared back inside.

Five minutes later a young man wearing glasses and a miner's hat opened the door.

"Hey there, kid," said Roark, "Come on in." Harry followed Roark into the gym. He looked at the rock covered battlefield in the vast battle room, which had some stands on one side. Roark turned, "Welcome to the Oreburgh gym. I'm Roark the Gym Leader and I accept your challenge."

"Thanks," said Harry, glad that Roark didn't waste more time than necessary. He stood at one end of the battle field and Roark went to the other. The green haired referee stood at the side of the battlefield.

"This battle will be a three on three battle," he announced, "The challenger will be permitted to make substitutions. The Gym Leader will not. Begin!"

"Geodude, let's go!" Roark sent out a small boulder with a face and strong arms. Harry scanned it with his pokedex.

" _Geodude the Rock Pokemon. Geodude can easily be mistaken for a small boulder and becomes angry if people or pokemon step on it._ "

"Buizel, you're up!" Harry released his Water type.

"You can have the first move," Roark offered.

"Alright," Harry said, "Buizel, Water Gun!" Buizel shot a stream of water from his mouth at Geodude.

"Geodude, Hidden Power!" called Roark. Geodude formed white orbs around itself and shot them at Buizel. The Water Gun was stopped in its tracks and the Hidden Power went on to strike the surprised Buizel, "My Geodude's Hidden Power is a Grass type move," Roark said smugly, "Rollout!" Geodude curled into a ball and rolled towards Buizel, slamming into him and knocking him into a rock. Buizel collapsed and didn't get up.

"Buizel is unable to battle, Geodude wins," said the referee. Harry was shocked by how easily Geodude had defeated Buizel.

"How did Geodude win so easily?" he wondered.

"I'm not a Gym Leader for nothing, kid," said Roark, "My Pokemon can overcome type disadvantages." Harry gritted his teeth. He thought Buizel would give him a quick win but had underestimated Roark's skill.

"Buizel return," he said and recalled his Water type. He looked down at Riolu, "Your turn, Riolu." Riolu nodded and stepped onto the battlefield.

"A Fighting type," Roark nodded, "Alright Geodude, Rollout." Geodude rolled towards Riolu, moving faster than it did when it hit Buizel.

"Brick Break!" Harry called and Riolu karate chopped Geodude before it made contact. Geodude skidded back across the battlefield.

"Not bad," Roark muttered, "Use Mega Punch."

"Brick Break again!"

Riolu chopped Geodude just as the Rock Pokemon swung a powerful glowing fist into his face. Both pokemon hit the ground hard. Riolu got up, rubbing his bruised cheek. Geodude lay motionless.

"Geodude is unable to battle, Riolu wins!"

"Nice job, Riolu," Harry said. Riolu smiled painfully.

"Geodude return," Roark recalled the boulder like Pokemon, "Good work, get some rest. Cranidos, you're up next!" He threw another Poke Ball and a small Pokemon that looked like a dinosaur with a hard blue skull appeared and pawed the ground with one foot.

" _Cranidos, the Headbutt Pokemon. It lived in jungles 100 million years ago, and would smash trees out of its way with its headbutts._ " Harry grimaced.

"Riolu, use Brick Break!" Harry called and Riolu jumped towards Cranidos.

"Flamethrower!" called Roark and Cranidos shot a stream of flames from its mouth. Riolu screamed in pain and fell to the ground without getting anywhere close to Cranidos, "Use Headbutt!" Cranidos lowered its head and lunged forwards, slamming into Riolu with its hard head, knocking him out.

"Riolu is unable to battle, Cranidos wins!" called the referee.

"Riolu return," Harry said recalling his Pokemon, "Have a break." Harry hesitated. Chimchar wouldn't be a good match up for Cranidos but Roark might have another Ground type lying in wait and the only moves Shinx knew that would do any damage to Ground types were Tackle and Bite.

"Chimchar go!" he called and let out the Chimp Pokémon, "Fire Spin!" Chimchar shot a spiralling stream of fire towards Cranidos.

"Dodge and use Zen Headbutt!" ordered Roark and Cranidos sprang away from the Fire Spin, landed on a rock and propelled himself towards Chimchar, smashing into her with his glowing blue head.

"Chimchar Flame Wheel!" Harry shouted but Chimchar seemed unable to move.

"Focus Energy!" ordered Roark and Cranidos glowed white. Harry wasn't sure what he had done but Chimchar had enough time to recover from Zen Headbutt's flinching side effect.

"Flame Wheel!" Harry shouted and Chimchar created a wheel of fire around her body and rolled towards Cranidos. She rammed into the Headbutt Pokémon and drove him backwards but Cranidos just smirked.

"Zen Headbutt!" ordered Roark and Cranidos lunged forwards and smashed into Chimchar with another Psychic type headbutt. This one seemed even stronger than the previous one as Chimchar was sent crashing into a rock hard enough to throw dust and bits of stone into the air. When the dust settled Chimchar was lying on the ground, unconscious.

"Chimchar is unable to battle, Cranidos wins!" The referee waved at Roark, "The victory goes to Roark the Gym Leader!"

"Excellent work, Cranidos," said Roark. Cranidos nodded at him as he recalled it. Harry recalled Chimchar and lowered his head. Roark had beaten him and only lost one Pokemon in the process. Also it was clear that Geodude was nowhere near as powerful as Cranidos. And Harry didn't even know what Roark's third Pokemon would have been. Harry looked at Roark and tried to smile but getting beaten so easily hurt.

"I can see why you're the Gym Leader," Harry said, "I'll train harder and come back another time."

"Okay," Roark said, nodding politely. Harry had a feeling that he had not impressed the Gym Leader, although Roark was too polite to say it. Harry left the gym.

* * *

Harry wandered around Oreburgh city's mine. He had healed his pokemon but now felt disheartened and wasn't even in the mood for training. He sat on a stone and watched the miners move around.

"Hey kid," said one of the miners, "You interested in helpin'?"

"No," Harry said without thinking, then realised how rude that sounded, "I mean, I'm just... I'm just looking around."

"Right ho," said the miner, "This work isn't really for kids anyway. Personally, I think our foreman gives the citizens a bit too much freedom in this area. I'd close it off to the public."

"Who's the foreman?" asked Harry.

"Roark. He's also the Gym Leader." Harry winced and looked away.

"I know," he mumbled.

"Hey, I know that look," the miner crossed over to him, "Lemme guess; Roark creamed you in battle?"

"Yeah," Harry muttered.

"Well kid, a Gym Leader's no ordinary trainer," the miner said, "They're stronger than most and from the looks of you I guess you're a startin' trainer. Roark's twenty years old and has been trainin' Pokemon for ten of those years. There's no shame in losin'."

"I'm not ashamed that I lost," muttered Harry, "I'm ashamed that I lost so easily. His Cranidos knocked out Riolu and Chimchar effortlessly and he didn't even need to use his third Pokemon against me."

"Look kid," the miner said, "Everyone loses and startin' trainers often lose easily to those with more experience. What's important is to learn from the loss and prepare to do better next time. If everyone gave up the first time they get stomped in battle, there would be much fewer trainers in the world." Harry looked at the miner. He was younger than he'd thought, probably only a couple of years older than Roark but the grime covering him made him look much older.

"Thanks," Harry said, "That... actually made me feel better." He hopped off the rock, "I'll train harder and do better in my rematch."

"That's the spirit!" grinned the miner, "But please don't train here. We don't wanna risk causing an accident."

"Right," Harry nodded, "Bye." He hurried away from the mine and headed towards a small, rocky area on the other side of the city.

Once he arrived, Harry released his four Pokemon. They all looked a bit despondent, especially Riolu, but brightened when they saw their trainer grinning at them.

"Okay guys," Harry said, "Last time we got stomped by Roark, so we're going to train harder and do better next time. You with me?" All four Pokemon agreed.

* * *

Two days had passed and Riolu had learned a new move. Harry once again challenged Roark. He was nervous, remembering how easily Roark had defeated him last time, but he'd trained hard and hoped it would pay off.

"Geodude let's go!" Roark sent out the Rock Pokemon again.

"Chimchar, I choose you!" Harry released the Chimp Pokemon.

"Alright let the battle begin!" announced the referee.

"Chimchar, use Fire Spin!" Harry ordered and Chimchar shot a spiral of flames from her mouth which surrounded Geodude. The Rock Pokemon grunted with discomfort. "Now use Flame Wheel!" Chimchar cloaked herself in fire and started rolling like a wheel.

"Magnitude!" called Roark and Geodude slammed its hand onto the ground, causing the battlefield to shake. Chimchar lost momentum and balance, missing Geodude altogether because of the shaking. "Rollout!" Geodude, still surrounded by Fire Spin, used Rollout to create an improvised Flame Wheel and knocked Chimchar off her feet before she could recover from Magnitude.

"Chimchar, intercept Rollout with Flame Wheel!" Harry called as Geodude rolled towards Chimchar for another attack. Chimchar rolled swiftly and slammed into Geodude's makeshift Flame Wheel. There was an explosion and both Pokemon were blasted back. Chimchar was more agile and landed on her feet whilst Geodude hit a rock rather hard. Chimchar had also stopped its Rollout before it could pick up too much momentum. "Nice work, Chimchar."

"You've improved, Harry," Roark said.

"Thanks," Harry said. Geodude looked a bit more damaged than it should have been considering it had only been hit by Fire type moves so far, but could still battle. The Fire Spin had died down.

"Geodude use Magnitude!" Roark called and Geodude hit the ground again.

"Jump Chimchar!" Harry called and Chimchar sprang into the air so the ground shook without affecting her. This Magnitude looked weaker than the first one anyway but it still would have been super effective.

"Shoot it down with Hidden Power!" Geodude shot white orbs at Chimchar.

"Flame Wheel!" ordered Harry and Chimchar somersaulted in mid-air, surrounding herself with flames. The Hidden Power struck her but Chimchar used her momentum and the power of gravity to power through the orbs as though they weren't there and slammed into Geodude, "Grass type Hidden Power, right?"

"I shouldn't have told you that," Roark muttered.

"Chimchar, Fire Spin again!" Harry called and once more Chimchar surrounded Geodude with a spiral of flames.

"Rollout!"

"Flame Wheel!"

The two Pokemon collided. Since this was Geodude's first and weakest Rollout, Chimchar overpowered it and sent it sailing into a rock.

"Geodude is unable to battle!" called the referee," Chimchar wins!"

"Excellent work, Chimchar!" Harry called. Chimchar smiled, but seemed quite tired.

"Geodude, you get some rest," Roark said, recalling his Pokemon. He looked at Harry, "Impressive. The last trainer who came here with a Chimchar had taught it Dig but yours defeated Geodude without any super effective moves."

"Thanks Roark," Harry was enjoying the Gym Leader's praise. It made him feel better about being creamed last time, "And Dig would be a useful move for Chimchar to know."

"Onix, let's go!" Roark released a massive Pokemon that looked like a snake, made out of rocks with a crest on its head. Both Chimchar and Harry sweat dropped at the size of the Pokemon.

"So that's your other Pokemon," Harry muttered nervously.

" _Onix, the Rock Snake Pokemon. Onix burrows through the ground at fifty miles per hour, feeding only on soil._ "

"Chimchar, return," said Harry and Chimchar disappeared into her Poke Ball, "Buizel, I choose you!" The Sea Weasel Pokemon emerged, "Water Gun!"

"Dodge and use Double-Edge!" Roark countered. Buizel shot a stream of water but with awesome speed for so huge a Pokemon, Onix dodged the attack, glowed white and smashed into Buizel. Harry winced; having a massive snake made of rocks collide with you like that must have really hurt.

"Buizel are you okay?" he asked. Buizel struggled upright then fell on one knee.

"Stealth Rock!" called Roark. Onix shot white beams of light from its body. Buizel flinched but the beams didn't touch him. Instead they hit the battlefield around him and formed into large rocks.

"What's Stealth Rock?" asked Harry.

"You'll see when you switch Pokemon," Roark replied enigmatically. Harry decided to worry about the Stealth Rock later.

"Aqua Jet!" he called. Buizel spun his twin tails and surrounded himself with water, before striking Onix with great speed. The super effective move caused Onix to roar with pain, "Now Water Gun!" Buizel, still in the air thanks to Aqua Jet, shot another stream of water, hitting Onix who bellowed.

"Slam!" Roark yelled and Onix raised its powerful tail and smashed it into Buizel. The Sea Weasel Pokemon crashed into the gym floor.

"Buizel is unable to battle, Onix wins!"

"Good work Buizel," Harry said, recalling it, "You held your own. Chimchar you're up!" The Chimp emerged, somersaulted and landed between the Stealth Rocks. As soon as she landed, several rocks rose into the air, glowed white and smashed into Chimchar, creating an explosion. "Chimchar!"

"Chimchar," mumbled Chimchar as the smoke cleared. She took a step towards Onix, then collapsed.

"Chimchar is unable to battle!"

"Now you know how Stealth Rock works," Roark said as Harry recalled Chimchar.

"Sorry Chimchar," he mumbled, "You take a break. Okay Riolu, it's up to you now. Go!" Riolu appeared on the battlefield and was instantly hit by Stealth Rock. He shrugged it off and glared at Onix.

"Onix, use Double-Edge!" Roark ordered and Onix lunged at Riolu using all of its huge body.

"Riolu jump on Onix's back!" Harry called and Riolu, jumped to avoid Double-Edge, somersaulted and landed on the Rock Snake Pokemon's back, "Force Palm!" Riolu slammed his Palm down on Onix. For a second nothing happened, but then yellow light exploded from Riolu's palm. Onix roared with pain and collapsed.

"Onix is unable to battle! Riolu wins!"

"Well done, Riolu," Harry said and Riolu flexed his muscles triumphantly.

"You were great Onix," Roark praised and took out Cranidos' Poke Ball, "Cranidos let's go!" The ball opened and Cranidos emerged. Riolu narrowed his eyes, promising himself that even if Cranidos beat him again, the Headbutt Pokemon wouldn't walk out of the battle unscathed. "Cranidos, Zen Headbutt!"

"Force Palm!"

Cranidos' head glowed blue as he lunged at Riolu. Riolu slammed his palm into Cranidos' hard skull. Yellow energy from Force Palm mixed with blue energy from Zen Headbutt, creating an explosion which sent both Pokemon flying. Cranidos recovered first.

"Flamethrower Cranidos!" ordered Roark and Cranidos fired a stream of fire from his mouth, causing Riolu to scream in pain. "Now Zen Headbutt!"

"Force Palm!" Harry ordered and Riolu thrust his palm into Cranidos' glowing skull, creating another explosion. This time however Cranidos planted his feet on a rock and lunged back towards Riolu.

"Use Headbutt!" ordered Roark and Cranidos slammed into Riolu with his hard skull, knocking him into a rock.

"Hang on Riolu!" shouted Harry, "Hidden Power!"

"Dodge it and use Head Smash!" Roark countered. Cranidos sprang away from the incoming orbs and lowered his head. Instead of just his skull, Cranidos' entire body was surrounded by blue light. Harry was so surprised by the new attack that he didn't react in time. Cranidos smashed into Riolu so hard that the Fighting type was sent flying right into the wall behind his trainer.

"Riolu!" Harry cried turning around to check his Pokémon's condition. Riolu struggled to his feet and took a step forwards before collapsing again. Meanwhile, Cranidos grimaced as Head Smash's recoil side effect kicked in.

"Riolu is unable to battle, Cranidos wins!" cried the referee, "Roark the Gym Leader wins the match!"

"Thanks for a great battle Riolu," Harry murmured and recalled the Emanation Pokemon. He turned as Roark approached.

"Good battle, Harry," the Gym Leader said, "It seems you do have potential as a trainer after all. I hope you return for another rematch."

"I will," Harry assured him, "And next time I'm going to earn a badge!"


	5. The First Badge

"Chimchar, use Dig!" Harry ordered and Chimchar scratched at the ground, creating a hole and disappearing inside it, "Okay Riolu, try and sense Chimchar." Riolu nodded and closed his eyes. The appendages on his head rose. A Riolu's Aura sensing abilities were more limited than those of a Lucario, but were still strong enough for him to get a vague idea of where Chimchar was.

"Ri," Riolu opened his eyes and pointed to a seemingly random spot on the ground.

"Riolu found you, Chimchar!" Harry called, "You can come out now." Chimchar reappeared, forming another hole in the ground as she emerged, "Good work you two. But Chimchar you need to be faster with your Dig, okay? In battle, your opponent won't give you much time to get underground."

"Char," Chimchar nodded.

"You guys keep practicing," Harry said, "I'm gonna do some training with Buizel now." He released Buizel whilst Chimchar and Riolu continued playing hide and seek using Chimchar's Dig and Riolu's Aura. "Okay, Buizel, I think we need a more powerful Water type move, since Onix took both Aqua Jet and Water Gun last time." Buizel nodded.

For the next hour, Harry worked on teaching Buizel to use Water Pulse. By the time they were done, Harry was almost as tired as his Pokemon. Chimchar and Riolu had stopped half an hour earlier and were just watching.

"Okay, one more time," Harry said. Buizel formed a blue orb between his paws. Instead of throwing the orb, Buizel raised it over his head and slammed it into the ground. A wave of water, shockingly large considering the relatively small size of the orb from which it originated, exploded out of the Water Pulse. Harry was soaked by the attack and Buizel chuckled. His trainer's lips twitched in amusement and he said; "Well, you've obviously got the hang of Water Pulse so we're done for today. Good work all of you."

As Harry recalled all his Pokemon apart from Riolu, whom Harry now knew only liked going in his Poke Ball if he was knocked out in battle, he heard screams from Oreburgh city. He looked up and saw a large Pokemon flying over the city. It was a species he had never seen before.

"What the heck is that?" he looked at Riolu, who shrugged. Harry took out his pokedex.

" _Aerodactyl, the Predator Pokemon. A long extinct species, Aerodactyl has razor sharp fangs, amazing speed and powerful claws, all of which it used to catch unfortunate prey._ "

"Sounds like it's on a hunt," Harry said nervously. He glanced at Riolu who looked just as scared as he was. Then Harry headed back towards the city. Riolu hesitated then followed.

It turned out they needn't have bothered. Roark and three trainers, one of whom Harry was sure he had seen before, were there to stop Aerodactyle. Roark's Cranidos evolved into Rampardos to counter the Predator Pokemon's Giga Impact with Head Smash. The collision obviously hurt Rampardos a lot but Aerodactyle was forced to recharge, enabling the boy with the Pikachu to shock Aerodactyle with Thunderbolt and knock it out.

With Aerodactyle contained, Harry tried to remember where he'd seen the blue haired girl before. Finally he snapped his fingers, remembering that she had been a participant in the Jubilife City Pokemon Contest.

"Rio?" Riolu asked.

"Just remembering something," Harry said, "Looks like we weren't needed. Let's go." He and Riolu left the scene. Nobody even noticed they had been there.

* * *

Now that Harry knew he was going to be facing Rampardos the next time he challenged Roark, he spent the next day preparing. Chimchar could dive into the ground very quickly, Riolu was able to point out where Chimchar was moving underground with steadily increasing precision and Buizel seemed to enjoy soaking them all with Water Gun whenever he wasn't practicing Water Pulse. Chimchar was becoming increasingly irritated with the Sea Weasel Pokemon, understandably since she was more vulnerable to water than the others. Harry also let Shinx out as he felt he'd been neglecting him a bit, and the Flash Pokemon started practicing Double Team.

* * *

The next day, Harry felt ready to challenge Roark again. He was nervous and Riolu picked up on his nerves but smiled and nodded reassuringly at him. Harry was greeted by Roark and the green haired referee and they went to the battle room.

"The rules are the same as the previous two battles," said the referee, "Are both trainers ready?" Roark nodded confidently. Harry took a breath and nodded too, "Then begin!"

"Onix, let's go!" Roark sent out the Rock Snake Pokemon which towered over Harry and Riolu.

"Buizel, let's win this time!" Harry sent out the Sea Weasel Pokemon.

"Onix, use Screech!" Roark ordered and Onix opened its mouth and bellowed very loudly, sending sound waves washing over Buizel.

"Water Gun!" shouted Harry. Buizel didn't seem to hear him over the deafening Screech attack and as if that wasn't enough it was sharply lowering his Defense.

"Double-Edge attack!" Roark ordered and Onix stopped Screech and hurled its massive body at Buizel.

"Aqua Jet into the air!" Harry yelled. This time Buizel heard and rocketed over Onix to dodge Double-Edge, "Water Pulse!" Buizel hurled the water filled orb down at Onix. It burst open on contact with the Rock Snake and water washed over the unfortunate Onix, causing it to bellow with pain.

"So Buizel's learned Water Pulse," Roark said, "In that case, let's show them your newest attack, Onix! Use Iron Tail!" Despite the pain caused by the super effective Water Pulse, Onix raised its huge tail which turned to iron. It then smashed the Iron Tail into Buizel, hurling him across the battlefield.

"Buizel, get up!" Harry shouted.

"Stealth Rock!" Roark ordered.

"Aqua Jet!" Harry yelled desperately; the last thing he needed was for Stealth Rock to be set up to hit any Pokemon that switched in.

Onix glowed as it prepared to launch the entry hazard but Buizel's Aqua Jet enabled him to strike first. Shooting forwards, Buizel slammed into the Rock Snake Pokemon before it could pull off Stealth Rock. Onix bellowed and fell to the ground with a deafening crash.

"Onix is unable to battle!" called the referee, "Buizel wins!"

"Way to go Buizel!" Harry cheered, "And you didn't give it time to use Stealth Rock!"

"Bui, Bui!" Buizel gave his trainer a triumphant thumbs up.

"Well done, Onix," said Roark, "Have a rest. Geodude, let's go!" The small boulder appeared.

"Watch out for its Hidden Power, Buizel," Harry warned, remembering how easily Geodude had defeated Buizel during their first battle. Buizel nodded and glared at Geodude, "Aqua Jet!" Buizel shot towards Geodude and slammed into it with Aqua Jet.

"Stealth Rock!" Roark called, catching Harry off guard.

"Wait, Geodude knows Stealth Rock too!" Harry exclaimed as the white beams formed into rocks around Buizel. The Sea Weasel glared at Geodude with a look of intense irritation; Harry had explained to him how Stealth Rock worked and it could really mess up Riolu and Chimchar's chances when Roark brought out Rampardos.

"Just in case you knocked out Onix before he could pull it off," Roark smirked.

"Alright, Aqua Jet!" Harry called.

"Use Mega Punch!" Roark countered.

The fact that Aqua Jet was extremely effective on Geodude made up for Buizel's lowered Defense. Even so, the resulting explosion sent both Pokemon flying, knocking them both out at the same time.

"Buizel and Geodude are both unable to battle!"

"Excellent work, Buizel," Harry said, recalling Buizel, "Taking out both Onix and Geodude was great."

"Well done, Geodude, you take a rest," Roark congratulated the Rock Pokemon as he returned it to its Poke Ball, "Alright Rampardos, let's go!" The ball burst open and a much larger version of Cranidos appeared. Rampardos had to be at least three times the size of his pre-evolution. He was a darker colour and had a long tail and a ring of nasty looking spikes surrounding his huge dome like skull.

"Rampardos," rumbled the creature. Harry scanned him with his Pokedex.

" _Rampardos, the Headbutt Pokemon and the evolved form of Cranidos. Its skull is a foot thick and it relishes smashing heads with rival Rampardos to test which of them is stronger._ "

"Okay, Riolu let's go!" Harry said and the Emanation Pokemon stepped onto the battlefield and was instantly hit by Geodude's Stealth Rock. Rampardos smirked at the tiny creature. Riolu looked rather scared but didn't back down, "Riolu, Force Palm!"

"Rampardos, Zen Headbutt!" Roark called and Rampardos' head glowed blue as he charged at Riolu. Riolu thrust forth his palm with all his strength and a burst of yellow light created an explosion when it collided with the Psychic energy of the Zen Headbutt. However Rampardos powered on through and Riolu was hurled across the battlefield like a rag doll. Rampardos didn't seem too badly hurt, despite the super effectiveness of Force Palm.

"Hidden Power!" Harry called and Riolu picked himself up and shot the white orbs at Rampardos. The Headbutt Pokemon grunted but shrugged off the attack. It struck Harry that he actually had no idea what type his Riolu's Hidden Power was, although judging by how little damage Force Palm had done, it probably wouldn't make much difference even if it was super effective against Rampardos.

"Rampardos, use Flamethrower!" Roark ordered and Rampardos shot a stream of flames at Riolu.

"Riolu, shield yourself with a rock!" Harry called and Riolu jumped behind the nearest rock. Roark smirked.

"Smash that rock with Headbutt!" he ordered and Rampardos, without even focussing the energy of Zen Headbutt or Head Smash into his skull, charged at the rock that was shielding Riolu.

"Riolu, get on Rampardos' back!" Harry ordered and Riolu jumped onto the rock as Rampardos charged towards it. Rampardos shattered the rock easily, but Riolu was faster and had already sprung onto his opponent's back, "Force Palm!" A thrust of Riolu's palm and an explosion of yellow energy knocked Rampardos onto his hands and knees.

"Throw it off!" ordered Roark and Rampardos reared back. Riolu was thrown off his back but somersaulted gracefully and landed on another rock.

"Brick Break, Riolu!" Harry called and Riolu sprang towards Rampardos as he turned to face him. He slammed a Brick Break right into Rampardos' face with all his strength.

"Knock it away with your tail!" Roark instructed and Rampardos spun around and knocked Riolu flying with his powerful tail, "Head Smash!" Riolu was still in the air when Rampardos glowed blue and smashed into him with his most powerful attack. The Emanation Pokemon collided with his trainer with such speed that Harry crashed into the wall. He'd broken Riolu's fall and prevented him from having his bones smashed by the attack but Riolu was out cold nonetheless.

"Ow", Harry rubbed his head which was pounding from the collision. He was glad he had only been hit by Riolu and not Rampardos.

"Riolu is unable to battle, Rampardos wins!" Harry paid no attention to the referee; he didn't need his confirmation that Riolu had been defeated. He stood up and looked at his unconscious Pokemon with a small smile.

"Thanks Riolu, you fought really hard," he said and recalled his Starter Pokemon. He took out another Poke Ball. "Okay Chimchar, I choose you!" As expected, Chimchar was hit by Stealth Rock as soon as she appeared. Unlike Riolu, she was hit super effectively by the entry hazard but she still faced Rampardos defiantly, "Fire Spin!" Chimchar shot a spiral of fire at Rampardos which twisted around the larger creature. Rampardos just stood there, seeming unbothered by the attack.

"Rampardos use Head Smash!" ordered Roark and Rampardos lowered his head and charged whilst still inside the Fire Spin. The blue energy from Head Smash mixed with the red flames turning Rampardos purple as he charged.

"Chimchar, Dig!" Harry ordered and Chimchar dug into the ground as fast as she could. Rampardos ran over the hole and skidded to a halt on Harry's side of the battlefield before turning around. The Head Smash faded but the Fire Spin remained.

"Another Chimchar with Dig," Roark noted, "Get ready Rampardos." Rampardos nodded and braced himself for another super effective hit. Chimchar burst out of the ground and rammed Rampardos with her entire tiny body. The Headbutt Pokemon stumbled but didn't seem badly hurt, "Headbutt!" Rampardos rammed into Chimchar and she crashed to the ground. "Now use Flamethrower!"

"Chimchar, charge into the flames and use Flame Wheel!" Harry ordered quickly. Chimchar dove right into the Flamethrower which mingled with the flames from her Flame Wheel. She rammed into Rampardos and this time almost knocked him off his feet but the Headbutt Pokemon used his tail to regain his balance. The Fire Spin faded away and Rampardos smirked.

Then he roared as fire surrounded him.

"Alright!" Harry said realizing that Chimchar had burned Rampardos.

"Rampardos don't let that burn stop you! Use Zen Headbutt!" Roark called. Rampardos charged and headbutted Chimchar again, this time focussing Psychic energy into his skull. Having been hit twice by Rampardos' rock hard skull, in addition to taking damage from Stealth Rock was taking its toll on the Chimp Pokemon. Chimchar struggled to stand up. Rampardos looked a bit worn out but Chimchar was barely able to stay upright.

"Chiiimchar!" Chimchar screamed suddenly and the flame on her backside blazed and grew bigger than her body. A fire seemed to appear in her eyes as she glared at Rampardos.

"Whoa!" cried Harry, "Is that what I think it is?" He took out his Pokedex.

" _Chimchar's Special Ability is Blaze. When it reaches the limit of its endurance, the power of its Fire type moves increases._ "

"I knew it!" Harry grinned with manic delight, "All Fire type Starter Pokemon have that Ability! Alright Chimchar, Fire Spin!"

"CHAR!" Chimchar shot Fire Spin towards Rampardos and it twisted around the Headbutt Pokemon for the second time.

"Fire Spin may be more powerful than usual but it's still a Fire type move Rampardos!" yelled Roark, "Use Zen Headbutt and finish this!"

"Chimchar use Flame Wheel at full power!" Harry yelled.

The place within the Fire Spin where Rampardos' head was glowed blue and mixed with the swirling red flames around him. Chimchar rolled rapidly to gain momentum and rocketed towards the Headbutt Pokemon. They met in the middle of the battlefield. An explosion occured. Rampardos was big and heavy so he merely skidded back a few meters whilst Chimchar was small and light. She soared backwards and back flipped, landing on her feet before falling onto her hands and knees. The smoke cleared.

Rampardos was still standing. The Fire Spin was still spinning around him and suddenly gained intensity for a second as the burn took effect. Opposite Rampardos, Chimchar forced herself to stand up again. There was a long silence.

Finally both Pokemon fainted. The Fire Spin around Rampardos disappeared when he collapsed.

"Chimchar and Rampardos are both unable to battle!" announced the referee, "Therefore this battle is a draw!"

Harry stared at Chimchar and Rampardos. A draw? He wasn't sure what happened in the event of a draw. Snapping out of it, he hurried to Chimchar's side. She looked up at him, looking completely exhausted.

"Well done, Chimchar," Harry knelt beside her, "You were incredible." He gingerly picked up the Fire type. Chimchar had stopped burning from Blaze but was still uncomfortably warm. Harry looked at Roark and Rampardos.

"Nice work, Rampardos," Roark said, "If Riolu hadn't tired you out beforehand, you would have creamed that Chimchar. You get some rest." Rampardos smiled. It struck Harry that he hadn't seen the Pokemon smile before. It looked much less intimidating when it did. Rampardos disappeared into its Poke Ball. Roark approached Harry.

"Rampardos was outnumbered," Harry mumbled, "You're right; if Riolu hadn't tired him out, he would have beaten Chimchar." He sighed, "I'll come back another time."

"Don't," Roark said simply. Harry blinked in surprise. The Gym Leader was smiling, "It's true that Chimchar wouldn't have matched Rampardos if he had been at full strength but it showed a great deal of spirit."

"She," Harry said, "My Chimchar's female."

"Right," Roark said, "Well she, Riolu and Buizel fought for you really hard and gave it everything they had. Besides," he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "when Chimchar was using Dig, Rampardos couldn't do anything except wait for her to come back up. This battle taught me that Earthquake would be a useful move for Rampardos to learn." He reached into his jacket and took out the Coal Badge, "In the event of a draw, the Gym Leader decides if the challenger is worthy of a badge. I've decided that you are." Harry stared at Roark, then the badge, then at Chimchar who was still in his arms.

"Chimchar, char, har," said Chimchar which Harry interpreted as something like, "Just take the badge for crying out loud!" He smiled and took the badge from Roark.

"Thank you, Roark," he said.

"Thank _you_ for a great battle," Roark said, "Keep training and you'll go a long way." Harry recalled Chimchar, then put the badge in a small case that was designed to contain the Sinnoh regions badges. He looked at the badge and closed the case. Then he nodded to Roark, not sure what else to do, and walked out of the gym.


	6. The Pokemon Hunter

Harry didn't want to win his other badges by drawing with Gym Leaders, so as he headed towards Floaroma Town he trained his Pokemon each day. He also battled a trainer each day during the journey and won four out of five times. After being defeated by a female Bibarel during the one battle Harry lost, Shinx started practicing Attract to give him an edge over female Pokemon who would otherwise be able to take advantage of Rivalry. At the moment Chimchar, being the only female in the group for Shinx to practice on, was unimpressed by his attempts.

Harry was a day's walk away from Floaroma Town when a shadow passed overhead. Harry was surprised when he looked up and saw a Salamence soaring overhead. Fascinated, he scanned the creature with his pokedex.

" _Salamence, the Dragon Pokemon and the final form of Bagon. Salamence has a vicious temper and is known to fly around and burn anything in its path with powerful flames._ "

"Ri!" Riolu pointed at the Salamence. When he looked closer, Harry saw that someone was riding the creature. They didn't seem to have noticed him.

Suddenly a grey van came speeding towards Harry and Riolu, moving far too quickly to be legal. The pair jumped aside and the van sped past them.

"What the hell?" Harry said glaring after the van, "Where's that going in such a hurry?" He looked at Riolu. Riolu rolled his eyes but nodded. After the incident with Aerodactyl, even though they hadn't gotten involved directly, the Emanation Pokemon knew that Harry was curious enough to go towards danger rather than away from it.

The pair reached a cliff and saw the Salamence and its trainer facing a boy and a Pikachu. Harry recognized the boy with the Pikachu, having seen them help Roark stop Aerodactyl. As Harry watched, the grey haired woman on the Salamence, who didn't seem very old despite the colour of her hair, sent out a Pokemon that looked like a giant purple scorpion.

" _Drapion, the Ogre Scorp Pokemon and evolved form of Scorupi. Drapion takes pride in its strength and though it contains powerful poison, it prefers to win battles using raw power alone._ "

"Pikachu, Volt Tackle!" ordered the boy and Pikachu surrounded itself with electricity and charged at Drapion.

"Dodge it!" called the woman and Drapion jumped over Pikachu who passed underneath it and skidded to a halt close to the Salamence, "Marvellous! No doubt you're worth quite a lot!" She pointed a strange device on her arm at the Pikachu and a golden beam shot out and hit Pikachu, turning it to stone.

"No, Pikachu!" cried the boy. Harry had seen enough.

"Riolu, we need to help," he said, "Brick Break on Drapion!" Riolu nodded and somersaulted off the cliff, slamming a Brick Break onto Drapion's head and catching it completely off guard. For the first time the boy and woman noticed Harry's presence.

"A Riolu," murmured the woman, "Let's see what else it can do." Harry started climbing down the cliff. He was suddenly painfully aware that the Salamence could knock him right off the cliff if it wanted to. However its trainer seemed more interested in Riolu, "Drapion, Pin Missile!"

"Draa!" Drapion fired missiles from all six of its claws, which included the claws on the end of its tail.

"Quick Attack!" Harry shouted and jumped the last few feet and landed beside the other boy, who looked about four or five years older than he was. Riolu darted between the missiles, dodging them all despite the lack of space on the cliff, and rammed into Drapion who brushed him off easily.

"Good speed," muttered the woman, "But what about power?"

"Force Palm!" Harry ordered and Riolu slammed his palm into Drapion and yellow energy blasted out of it. Drapion nearly crashed into the Salamence on which the woman was standing but regained its balance quickly. The woman nodded approvingly.

"Good enough for me," she said and aimed her device before shooting a beam at Riolu, turning him to stone.

"Riolu!" yelled Harry and glared at the woman, "What the hell are you doing, Lady!?"

"You shouldn't be using that language at your age," the woman mocked, "And as for what I'm doing, I'm a Pokémon Hunter and Riolu's a rare and valuable Pokemon. Let's go Salamence. Drapion return." She recalled the Ogre Scorp Pokemon and Salamence took off. The stone statues of Pikachu and Riolu had been placed on metal disk like platforms which floated swiftly away towards the same grey truck that had passed Harry and Riolu earlier.

"Ash!" shouted a female voice and the boy with Harry turned as a blue haired girl, accompanied by a spiky haired young man with squinty eyes and a purple haired young woman sprinted towards them. The blue haired girl was the coordinator Harry had glimpsed on television and during Aerodactyle's rampage.

"Dawn!" cried the boy, who Harry assumed was Ash, "That woman took Pikachu away!" Dawn glanced at Harry.

"Who's he?" she asked.

"I'm Harry," Harry said swiftly, "She took my Riolu too."

"I think I know someone who can help," said the spiky haired young man and they heard the sound of a motor cycle. A moment later a police officer arrived accompanied by a large dog like Pokemon, an Arcanine. Harry was so agitated by Riolu's disappearance that he didn't even check the Arcanine with his pokedex.

"Officer Jenny," said Ash.

"What's happening?" the woman said briskly.

"That woman on the Salamence stole my Pikachu," Ash explained.

"And my Riolu," Harry added.

"And my Gardevoir," said the purple haired girl.

"I assume she also had a Drapion with her?" Officer Jenny questioned. Harry and Ash nodded, "That's J, the most ruthless bounty hunter in Sinnoh. She'll do anything to steal rare or powerful Pokemon."

"Can you help us get our Pokemon back?" Harry asked desperately. Jenny grimaced.

"That won't be easy," she muttered, "J is very difficult to track. She comes and goes without warning."

"There must be something we can do!" Ash seemed even more agitated than Harry was.

"Excuse me," said the purple haired woman, "Maybe I can help." She opened a Poke Ball and a small Pokemon that looked like a human girl but with white skin and green "hair" appeared.

"Kirlia!" it said. The woman showed the Pokemon a picture of the Pokemon Hunter.

"This is the woman who took Gardevoir, Kirlia," she said, "I need you to use your Future Sight to anticipate where she'll strike next." Kirlia nodded and concentrated. The humans all felt strange when it projected the image of a windmill into their heads.

"I know where that is," said Officer Jenny.

"Can Kirlia anticipate exactly when the strike will happen?" Harry asked the purple haired woman. She shook her head.

"It could happen today, next week or next month," she said.

"Well we should get there quickly," Ash said. Jenny nodded.

"Two of you can ride with me but Arcanine can only carry two people" she said.

"That's okay," said the purple haired woman, "I know where it is too; Kirlia can Teleport me there."

"Right," Jenny said, "Who's riding with me?"

"I'll ride with you, my love!" cried the spikey haired boy. Jenny, Harry and the purple haired girl were surprised.

"Not now, Brock!" groaned Ash and a Poke Ball opened, releasing a Croagunk behind Brock. The Croagunk reared back its hand which glowed with poison. Dawn grabbed its arm to stop it.

"Croagunk we don't have time for this," she explained. Croagunk grunted but nodded and lowered its hand, "Brock you're riding Arcanine." She climbed on behind Jenny while Harry jumped into the sidecar. Ash and Brock climbed onto Arcanine.

"Let's go!" Jenny said and her Arcanine easily kept pace with the motorcycle, despite carrying Ash and Brock on its back. The purple haired girl meanwhile took hold of her Kirlia's hand and Teleported to the windmill.

* * *

It turned out that J's strike was taking place that day. The group arrived just as she turned an Absol to stone. The purple haired young woman and a bearded man in his thirties had been tied to a tree by what looked like silk. An Ariados beside J's Salamence confirmed the theory. Kirlia had simply been knocked out; evidently J didn't consider it worth stealing.

Ash was first down the hill with Jenny and Harry close behind.

"J!" bellowed Ash, "Give us back our Pokemon!"

"After going through the effort of stealing them?" J asked, seeming unsurprised by their arrival, "I think not." Arcanine sprang down and landed beside Officer Jenny, "Don't bother, Officer. I've dealt with Sinnoh's so called finest more times than I care to count." Jenny gritted her teeth at the implied insult.

"Arcanine Flamethrower!" she ordered and Arcanine shot a stream of flames at the Salamence.

"Hyper Beam," J said, not even raising her voice. Salamence shot a powerful beam from its mouth which blasted right through Flamethrower and knocked Arcanine off its feet, "Well done. Let's go." Salamence took off as J recalled the Ariados. Brock meanwhile was freeing the purple haired woman and the bearded man.

"Melanie are you okay?" Brock paid little attention to the bearded man. Once she was free, Melanie ran to check on her Kirlia. Ash looked around and saw the grey truck nearby. He ran towards it.

"Ash!" yelled Dawn. Harry realized what the older boy was thinking and followed him. The pair held on underneath the truck as it drove away.

"We haven't been properly introduced," Harry called over the noise of the engine, "I'm Harry Rowan."

"Ash Ketchum," grunted the other boy. Evidently he was used to this kind of situation as he was holding onto the truck fairly easily, whereas Harry's muscles were getting tired. Thankfully they arrived at their destination only a few minutes later. The truck went up a ramp which closed behind them. When the truck stopped, Harry let go and slumped to the floor. Ash did the same, but they didn't come out from beneath the truck until they were sure nobody was around.

"Does this sort of thing always happen to you?" asked Harry.

"Pretty much," Ash muttered, "Come on. Let's go find our Pokemon."

"You were at Oreburgh City weren't you?" Harry murmured, "You helped Roark stop the Aerodactyl."

"Oh you saw that huh?" Ash said.

"Only the end of it," Harry replied. Then alarm went off.

" _Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!_ "

The two boys ran down the corridor, hoping against hope that they would just stumble upon the place where their Pokemon were being kept. They didn't find the Pokemon but they did find J in a hallway.

"Annoying brats," J said coldly and released her Drapion.

"Shinx, I choose you!" Harry let out the Flash Pokemon.

"Go Aipom!" Ash released a small purple monkey like Pokemon with a large hand on its tail, "Focus Punch!" Aipom clenced the fist on its tail and lunged at Drapion as her fist turned white.

"Cross Poison," J said lazily. Apart from her tendency to steal Pokemon it was her icy arrogance that made her such a loathsome person. Drapion intercepted Focus Punch with its arms crossed in an X shape which glowed purple. It overpowered Aipom knocking it backwards.

"Shinx, Spark!" Harry ordered, hoping that the Drapion was male. His hunch was correct and Drapion bellowed and stumbled back.

"Crunch!" J said, raising her voice for the first time. Drapion bit down on Shinx who screamed in pain. Drapion then started shaking his head back and forth. Shinx's terrified screams of anguish echoed down the corridor. Drapion didn't let go.

For the first time Harry realised that J was actually willing to kill in order to get what she wanted.

"Aipom, Focus Punch!" Aipom came to Shinx's rescue, punching Drapion in his midsection. Drapion had the breath knocked out of him and let go of Shinx. To Harry's horror he saw that his Pokemon was bleeding badly.

"Shinx!" Harry picked him up. The wounds didn't look fatal but Shinx was struggling to stay concious. Harry recalled him.

"Harry, this way," Ash said and took a cover off a vent before recalling Aipom. He crawled inside. Drapion, no longer having an opponent to fight, advanced on Harry instead.

"Chimchar Fire Spin!" Harry yelled, enraged that the Ogre Scorp Pokemon had tried to kill Shinx. Chimchar emerged and shot a Fire Spin at Drapion who roared in pain as he was trapped in the spiral of fire. Harry crawled into the vent, "Chimchar, come on!" Chimchar hastily followed her trainer while Drapion thrashed around the corridor. J couldn't even recall him because the Fire Spin blocked the Poke Ball's beam. All she could do was wait for the attack to wear off which was enough time for Harry and Ash to get to safety.

"Is your Shinx okay?" asked Ash, looking genuinely concerned. Harry let Shinx out of his Poke Ball. He was still bleeding.

"I can't believe she was willing to kill him," Harry whispered, making sure that Shinx's injuries were not fatal. They weren't but he would need medical attention soon or he would lose too much blood. He recalled Shinx.

"Chimchar!" Chimchar called up ahead. The two boys joined her and peered into a room which contained all the captured Pokemon J had caught. They were all statues.

"Riolu!" Harry spotted his Starter Pokemon.

"Pikachu!" Ash spotted his too. They removed the vent's cover and almost fell into the room. Chimchar entered more gracefully and looked curiously at the statues. She moved a switch on the large disk shaped platform beneath the statue of the Absol and the stone faded away.

"Absol," said the Disaster Pokemon, looking around in confusion. It tensed when it saw Ash and Harry.

"Char, Chimchar!" Chimchar explained and Absol relaxed. Harry, Ash and Chimchar then went around turning the other Pokemon back into their normal selves.

"Riolu!" Harry knelt beside Riolu who looked shaken and scared, "Are you okay? Did she hurt you?" Riolu shook his head but was still shaking. Harry hugged him, "I'm sorry. It was my fault. Can you forgive me?" Riolu kept shaking but hugged him back, "It's okay. You're safe now."

Ash turned Pikachu back to his living state. Pikachu took being turned to stone better than Riolu did, just being happy to see his trainer again. He hopped onto Ash's shoulder. The Gardevoir belonging to Melanie joined them. Riolu calmed down and looked up at Harry.

"Ri, Riolu," he said wiping his eyes.

"You know I wouldn't leave you, right?" Harry said. Riolu's expression showed that he didn't know that. Harry then realized how little the two of them knew each other. He didn't even know what type of Hidden Power Riolu had and it seemed that Riolu had been scared that he had abandoned him. Harry picked up the frightened Emanation Pokemon, "I'm sorry Riolu. I won't let something like this happen again." He realized something else; he had never actually hugged Riolu before. Riolu had distanced himself from Harry without the ten year old even realizing it.

Harry wondered if he was a good trainer or not.

"We need to go," Ash said. Harry nodded and carried Riolu out of the room.

"Stop right there!" three of J's Henchmen blocked their way.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash said, without hesitation. Pikachu shocked all three henchmen and they collapsed groaning.

"How do we get off the ship?" Harry asked. Ash shrugged.

"I have a Staravia but he's not strong enough to carry us," he replied. Suddenly the ship tilted.

"What the heck!" Harry cried and then he had the distinct sensation of falling. J had disconnected their side of the ship from her cockpit and left them to fall to their deaths! And her own henchmen were there too!

Harry had never encountered real evil before. J was nothing like the comical villains in cartoons.

Suddenly everyone felt a strange sensation. There was a flash of white light and a moment later, the group found themselves on a hillside. Gardevoir had one hand on Absol so that the Teleport would affect the Dark type too. The Embrace Pokemon had just saved all their lives!

"Gardevoir!" cried Melanie and Gardevoir showed why it was known as the Embrace Pokemon by hugging its trainer as she threw her arms around it. Dawn, Brock and Officer Jenny were there too.

"Ash!" Dawn called, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ash said.

"How about you?" Brock asked Harry.

"I'm okay," Harry said, then remembered Shinx, "But my Shinx isn't!" He let out the Flash Pokemon, who was now in bad shape. There was blood everywhere, "J's Drapion did that," Harry said helplessly.

"Voir," said the Gardevoir gliding forwards, "Gardevoir." It pressed its hands together and its entire body glowed. The heart on its chest shone a white light on Shinx. Everyone watched in astonishment as Shinx's wounds healed. Once the healing was done, Gardevoir fainted.

"Gardevoir!" cried Melanie.

"What did Gardevoir just do?" asked Dawn.

"That was Healing Wish," Brock explained, "It fully heals a Pokemon at the cost of knocking out the Pokemon using it."

"Shinx, are you okay?" asked Harry. Shinx examined his body. Then he nodded. But Harry could see that he wasn't really okay. Drapion had actually made a real effort to kill him and Shinx was frightened by the experience, "Damn Drapion! Return Shinx." Shinx disappeared.

The group looked at Officer Jenny who had tied up the henchmen Gardevoir had teleported with them. She finished speaking into a radio and turned to them.

"I'm done here," Jenny said, "At least this time chasing after J yielded some results."

"You'll catch her Officer Jenny!" Brock sprang forwards, "I believe in you! And I also believe in true..." Croagunk appeared again. This time Dawn didn't stop it as it thrust a Poison Jab into its trainer's backside and dragged him away. Dawn shook her head at Brock and turned to Harry.

"I think we should be introduced properly," she said, "I'm Dawn and I'm training to become a top coordinator." She held out a hand and Harry shook it.

"I saw you on TV," he said, "Just briefly. I'm more into battling than contests."

"So are you trying to enter the Sinnoh league?" asked Ash.

"Yep!" Harry said, "I got the Coal Badge a few days ago." He opened his badge case to prove it.

"So did I," Ash said and showed him his own Coal Badge.

"I'm Brock," said Brock, who had recovered from Croagunk's Poison Jab, "I want to be a great Pokemon breeder, but I was also once a Gym Leader in Kanto."

"I've never been to Kanto," Harry said.

"You should some time," Ash advised. Then they heard police sirens and several of Jenny's colleagues arrived to take the henchmen away. Melanie's Gardevoir Teleported her and Absol away, presumably to return Absol to its trainer. This left Harry alone with the trio.

"Well it was nice meeting you guys," Harry said, "Or it would have been if we didn't have to deal with an evil Pokemon Hunter."

"Yeah," Ash agreed.

"Why don't you come with us?" asked Dawn.

"Are you going to Floaroma Town?" Harry asked.

"Yes, there's a contest there," said Dawn.

"I'll stay until we get to town," Harry decided, "but after that I'll leave. Like I said, contests aren't my thing."

"Okay well, Floaroma's only a few miles from here," Brock said, "We can get there by nightfall."

"Let's go then," Harry said. The group headed towards Floaroma Town together.

 **Ash, Dawn and Brock are going to be important in this story but Harry won't become a full time companion until later. Harry's still the main character but I decided to include Ash, Dawn and Brock because in my opinion, the anime was at its best in Sinnoh.** **Ash is 15 in this story (they really should not have turned him 10 again when he went to Unova) and Brock is 19, bordering on 20. Dawn and Harry are both 10.**


	7. Team Galactic

**One of my reviewers asked how Harry would react to Team Rocket. In this continuity, Team Rocket exists but gave up on chasing Ash at the end of Hoenn. They finally learned their lesson after getting blasted off one time too many.** **Jessie, James and Meowth might appear in the future - possibly in Unova where they were actually competent - but not in Sinnoh.**

 **Basically in this story, Ash's journey's before Sinnoh happened quite differently - he had to actually win against all Gym Leaders and Pikachu was always useless against Ground types until he learned Iron Tail - but since Harry's the main character, I won't go into detail about it unless it's important.**

Harry spent the night with Ash, Dawn and Brock in Floaroma Town. He wasn't really one for goodbyes so he left the next morning and headed towards Eterna Forest. On the way however he took a wrong turn and ended up in a canyon filled with windmills. The windmills spun rapidly as a strong wind blew through the canyon.

"Floon!" squealed a voice and Harry saw a Drifloon flying right towards him, blown by the wind. He looked at his pokedex.

" _Drifloon, the Balloon Pokemon. Also known as the_ Signpost for Wandering Spirits _Drifloon floats aimlessly wherever the wind takes it._ "

Right now the Drifloon seemed to be aiming for Harry, although he wasn't sure that was intentional. It then reached out and wrapped its two very thin arms around his chest to stop it from being blown any further.

"Oi!" Harry said, more surprised than annoyed, "What are you doing, Drifloon?" Riolu smirked slightly as he watched his trainer struggling to free himself from Drifloon's Constrict. Drifloon giggled playfully. Then the wind changed direction and it let go and allowed the gust to blow it away again, "Huh. Was I just an anchor for that creature?" Harry looked at Riolu, who shrugged. They went into the canyon together.

Riolu grew very tense as they went further. Since their encounter with J, Harry had decided to pay more attention to how he was feeling.

"What's up, Riolu?" he asked. Riolu pointed ahead. The pair hid behind a rock and looked out to see a group of people in a uniform with a G on it, "Who are they?" asked Harry quietly.

"More like, who are you?" said a female voice and Harry and Riolu spun around. A red haired woman stood behind them with a fat, rather ugly cat like Pokemon with a tail coiled in a spiral shape by her side.

"A Purugly?" Harry said and took out his Pokedex.

" _Purugly, the Tiger Cat Pokemon and the evolved form of Glameow. Purugly is aggressive and will drive Pokemon out of their homes and claim the territory for itself._ "

"Now that your Purugly lesson is finished, answer my question," said the woman.

"Harry," the boy replied, "You?"

"Mars," said the woman. Harry snorted. She raised an eyebrow, "Think my name's funny do you?"

"Well it's obviously not your real name," Harry said, "What's going on here?"

"That's not your concern," Mars said, "You shouldn't be here."

"I'm guessing by your need for secrecy, you shouldn't either," Harry said.

"We don't need kids snooping around in our business," Mars said irritably. Purugly hissed. Riolu stepped between his trainer and the Tiger Cat Pokemon. By now several of Mars' subordinates had noticed what was happening, "Keep working," Mars ordered, "I'll deal with the kid."

"So you want to battle?" Harry said, "Fine by me. Riolu Brick Break!" Riolu jumped at Purugly and raised his hand to deliver the chop.

"Aerial Ace!" said Mars. Harry blinked in alarm as Purugly dodged Brick Break and became surrounded by white streaks. It slammed into Riolu and knocked him out with one hit.

"Aerial Ace?" Harry said, "How can a Purugly use Aerial Ace?"

"Well it needs a move that's super effective against Fighting types," Mars said smugly.

"Riolu return," Harry recalled his Starter Pokemon, "Chimchar go!" Chimchar appeared, "Fire Spin!" Chimchar fired the attack and Purugly screeched in pain as it was surrounded by the flames.

"Body Slam!" ordered Mars and Purugly, still surrounded by Fire Spin, threw its fat body on top of Chimchar who squealed as she was squashed underneath it an knocked out.

"Chimchar return," Harry was getting worried now. Purugly had just beaten both Riolu and Chimchar each with a single hit, "Go Buizel." The Sea Weasel Pokemon appeared, "Water Pulse!" Buizel hurled the blue orb at Purugly.

"Shadow Ball!" Mars ordered and Purugly formed a black orb in front of its mouth which collided with Water Pulse, creating an explosion.

"Do it again Buizel, but this time on the ground," Harry instructed and Buizel slammed another orb onto the ground creating a wave of water.

"Dodge it and use Body Slam!" Mars ordered and Purugly used its curled up tail like a spring to propel itself into the air. The wave missed it completely.

"Dodge it and use Sonicboom!" Harry called and Buizel dodged the fat cat before firing a shock wave from his tail. Purugly hissed as it was knocked sideways by the attack, "Aqua Jet!" Buizel surrounded himself with water and tackled Purugly. The Tiger Cat Pokemon screeched but in anger not pain; evidently it hated being hit with Water type moves.

"Shock Wave!" Mars ordered and Purugly raised its tail, forming an orb of electricity between the curls and then shooting an electric shock at Buizel. Having just been soaked by his own Aqua Jet, poor Buizel didn't stand a chance. Harry recalled him.

"That Purugly's strong," he admitted.

"You really should not have poked your nose into Team Galactic's business," Mars said.

"Well too late now," Harry said, "Go Shinx!" The Flash Pokemon appeared and faced Purugly, "Try Attract!" Shinx winked at Purugly and hearts shot out towards the Tiger Cat Pokemon. Harry was slightly surprised when the move actually worked and Purugly got hearts in her eyes, "Well done. Now use Howl." Shinx obeyed and Howled at the sky before glowing red, showing his Attack power had increased.

"Purugly, snap out of it!" Mars demanded but Purugly ignored her.

"Howl again!" Harry called and Shinx raised his Attack power a bit more, "Alright use Spark!" Shinx lunged forwards, sparking with electricity and hit Purugly with an electrified tackle, knocking her off her feet. The electricity served to shock Purugly back to reality.

"Use Body Slam!" Mars ordered.

"Double Team!" Harry countered. Purugly landed on one of Shinx's copies which vanished as soon as Body Slam landed on it.

"Double Team doesn't work against Shock Wave!" Mars called and Purugly electrified all of Shinx's copies as well as the real Shinx with her Shock Wave attack.

"Use that Shock Wave to give your Spark a power boost, Shinx!" Harry called and Shinx obeyed, wincing in discomfort but storing the electricity in his body before using a super charged Spark to knock out Purugly.

"Purugly!" Mars cried in shock.

"Commander Mars," said one of her grunts, "Do you...?"

"I don't need help!" Mars said impatiently, "Purugly return. Go Bronzor!" A Pokemon that looked quite simply like a blue metal mask appeared.

" _Bronzor, the Bronze Pokemon. It is believed that this ancient species may have had a reflective surface like a mirror at some point in the past._ "

"Spark!" Harry ordered.

"Iron Defence!" Mars countered. Shinx lunged at Bronzor which glowed much like the mirror the pokedex had mentioned its species may have once been like. Shinx slammed into Bronzor and it floated back a bit but seemed unhurt, "Gyro Ball!" Bronzor spun rapidly and became surrounded by two blue rings. It then turned so that it was pointing horizontally towards Shinx and slammed into the Flash Pokemon knocking it to the ground.

"You okay, Shinx?" asked Harry. Shinx picked himself up, "Use Howl again!" Shinx obeyed.

"Iron Defence," Mars said and Bronzor glowed again and raised its Defense further.

"Howl!" Harry called and Shinx obeyed once more. Mars just smirked.

"Iron Defence," she said and Bronzor did it again. Harry then realised why Mars wasn't attacking. She was making fun of him! The worst part was that since his Shinx was a physical attacker and largely relied on Rivarly, there wasn't much he could do in this situation. Bronzor was genderless and therefore wouldn't be affected by Attract and Rivalry didn't activate when facing a genderless opponent.

"What are you planning to do to me?" Harry asked in a defeated voice.

"We'll just leave you tied up in there," Mars pointed to the metal building at the far end of the valley.

"What about my Pokemon?" Harry asked.

"I'm not interested in them," Mars sniffed. Shinx growled and sparked angrily at her contempt, "My colleague likes stealing Pokemon but fortunately for you, she's not here. We just need you out of the way until we've finished our operation."

"You promise you won't hurt me or my Pokemon?" Harry asked. He wasn't sure he could trust the promise of a criminal, but Mars didn't seem to be as vicious as J.

"Promise," Mars said.

"Fine," Harry said, "Shinx return." Shinx disappeared into his Poke Ball.

"Wise decision, kid," Mars said as two of her grunts tied Harry's hands behind his back. She recalled her Bronzor as the grunts led the boy to the building.

* * *

Mars left Harry's Poke Balls in the same room but out of reach on a table. Harry now had his feet tied together and a piece of tape over his mouth to keep him quiet. He wriggled in his bonds as he tried to get to the table. He was painfully aware that Mars could have very easily stolen his Pokémon if she'd wanted to. Fortunately, despite being a criminal, she seemed to be a woman of her word.

"Floon!" squealed a voice. Harry jumped slightly. A tiny shape squeezed through the vent, without even needing to move the cover off of it. Drifloon stopped its Minimize and returned to its full size.

"Mmphloon," Harry said through the tape on his mouth. Drifloon twirled around the room in a carefree manner. Harry called out to it again. Drifloon floated towards him. Harry nodded towards his Poke Balls. Drifloon floated towards them, then used its arms to knock them onto the floor. All four of Harry's Pokemon appeared and saw their trainer tied up and gagged. Drifloon continued floating around the room without a care in the world.

Riolu stripped the tape off Harry's mouth while Chimchar untied his hands and Shinx used Bite to break the ropes that tied his feet. Buizel seemed more interested in Drifloon who was still twirling around the room in a carefree manner.

"Thanks guys," Harry said once he was free, "And thank you, Drifloon."

"Drifloon!" Drifloon said and suddenly used Constrict on his waist but not too hard. Harry realized that the Balloon Pokemon liked him.

"You're an affectionate thing, aren't you," he said awkwardly as Drifloon rubbed its head against him. Harry gently removed the Balloon Pokemon's arms and went to the door. It was locked, "Obviously," Harry muttered to himself. Drifloon floated towards the door and stuck one of its thin arms into the key hole. It wiggled the appendage about for a few seconds and then there was a click, "Thanks Drifloon," Harry said and opened the door.

The metal building was deserted. Harry went outside. Team Galactic was gone. Harry wondered why they'd been here in the first place but dismissed the thought. At least they hadn't tried to kill him or steal his Pokemon.

"Well, I guess we don't need to stay here any longer," Harry muttered. A gust of wind nearly blew Drifloon away, but it used Harry to anchor itself like it had when they first met, "Do you want to come with me, Drifloon?" Drifloon nodded happily. "Okay. Do you want to battle with me first?" Drifloon shoot its head, "Fine." Harry held out a Poke Ball. Drifloon examined it for a moment, then tapped it with one of its arms and disappeared inside. Harry looked at the ball and smiled. His little detour hadn't been a waste of time after all.

 **Sorry Martyn but Harry's not afraid of Ghosts. By the way having only two reviewers is a little discouraging.**


	8. Gender Evolution

**So far I've only received reviews from two people which is rather disappointing. What am I doing wrong?**

Harry was in Eterna Forest and preparing to battle a pretty girl with green hair tied in a long braid.

"I'd like to have a five on five battle okay?" Harry said to the girl, whose name was Cheryl.

"Sorry," said Cheryl, "I only have four Pokemon. I'm still searching for a male Burmy."

"Why do you need a male Burmy?" asked Harry.

"Because females can't evolve into Mothim," Cheryl explained, "So can we just have a four on four battle?"

"Okay," Harry agreed.

"Great," Cheryl smiled sweetly, "Go Womadam!" A green Pokemon cloaked in leaves with two large leaves on top of her head appeared.

" _Wormadam, the Bagworm Pokemon, and an evolved form of Burmy. Only a female Burmy can evolve into Wormadam. Depending on the environment, Wormadam gains different types after she evolves._ "

"Go Drifloon!" Harry's Drifloon had not been used in battle yet and he wanted to see how strong it was. The Balloon Pokemon spun around happily when she emerged.

"Aw, it's cute," said Cheryl, "But we won't go easy on it. Wormadam, Razor Leaf!" Wormadam shook the two leaves on its head and sharp leaves shot towards Drifloon.

"Use Minimize!" Harry called and Drifloon immediately deflated to a tiny size allowing her to move between the sharp leaves easily, "Now Constrict!" Drifloon returned to her normal size, wrapped her arms around Wormadam and squeezed her hard. Then she rubbed her head against Wormadam. Harry sweatdropped, "My Drifloon's very affectionate," he explained sheepishly.

"That's adorable," Cheryl said, "Wormadam, Attract!" Wormadam winked and pink hearts hit Drifloon, who was still hugging her with Constrict. Drifloon merely tilted her head slightly, curious about what Attract was supposed to do to her.

"Good thing my Drifloon's female," Harry said, "Use Gust!" Drifloon let go of Wormadam, spread her arms and spun swiftly, creating a Gust of wind which sent Wormadam flying into a tree.

"Wormadam!" cried Cheryl. The Bug and Grass type hadn't stood a chance against the Flying type move.

"Great work, Drifloon!" Harry said and Drifloon happily used Constrict on him.

"You have a rest, Wormadam," said Cheryl, "Go Wormadam!" This time Wormadam was light brown and had rock's in the place where the leaves had been on the other Wormadam.

"Another Wormadam, huh?" Harry said, "Use Gust!" Drifloon spun and shot another Gust at Wormadam.

"Protect!" Cheryl called and Wormadam formed a green barrier around her body. The Gust washed over her but had no effect, "Rock Blast!" Wormadam formed several rocks around her body and shot them one at a time at Drifloon. The rocks struck her four times and she fell into her trainers arms, unconscious.

"Nice work, Drifloon," Harry said and recalled her, "Go Buizel!" Buizel appeared and faced the Wormadam, "Aqua Jet." Buizel rocketed towards Wormadam and struck her hard.

"Rock Blast!" called Cheryl and Wormadam shot more rocks, this time only three of them, at Buizel.

"Sonicboom!" Harry called and Buizel unleashed three rapid fire Sonicbooms from his twin tails, shattering each rock before they hit him, "Now Water Gun!" Buizel used Water Gun to knock out Wormadam.

"Take a break, Wormadam," Cheryl said and recalled her Pokemon, "Now it's time for my third Wormadam!" This one was pink with two slightly darker pieces of steel in the place where her two counterparts' leaves and rocks had been.

"Water Pulse!" Harry ordered. By now, Buizel rarely bothered launching Water Pulse in the form of an orb, simply slamming into the ground to create a wave and he did so now.

"Protect!" Cheryl ordered and Wormadam blocked the wave with a green barrier.

"Aqua Jet!" Harry ordered and Buizel rammed swiftly into Wormadam.

"Use Gyro Ball!" Cheryl called. The two steel strips on Wormadam's head turned blue and she spun rapidly and slammed into Buizel sending him flying.

"You okay?" Harry said. Buizel picked himself up, "Brick Break!" Buizel jumped towards Wormadam and raised a hand as Riolu had shown him, ready to deliver a strong chop.

"Confusion!" called Cheryl and Wormadam's eyes glowed pink and Buizel was surrounded by pink energy. Wormadam swung her head and Buizel went crashing into a tree. He collapsed and Harry recalled him.

"Go Chimchar!" he released the Chimp Pokemon, "Fire Spin!"

"Protect!" Cheryl ordered. The Fire Spin surrounded Wormadam but failed to penetrate her barrier, "Gyro Ball!"

"Use Flame Wheel!"

Both Pokemon rammed into each other and the impact blew them both back. Chimchar landed on her feet whilst Wormadam slid along the ground, her body scorched. Cheryl recalled her.

"Rest now, Wormadam," she said, "Alright, go Chansey!" A pink Pokemon shaped like an egg with an egg in a pouch on her belly appeared.

" _Chansey the Egg Pokemon and the evolved form of Happiny. This kind Pokemon lays nutritious eggs which she shares with Pokemon and people alike._ "

"Alright Chimchar use Flame Wheel!" Harry ordered and Chimchar cloaked herself in fire and rolled towards Chansey.

"Chansey, Reflect!" Cheryl ordered and Chansey formed a blue screen of light. Chimchar rammed into the screen and Chansey stumbled but Reflect absorbed half of the damage, "Seismic Toss!" Chansey grabbed Chimchar with her short arms and jumped into the air before somersaulting a few times and hurling Chimchar into the ground. Chimchar was knocked out with one attack. Harry raised an eyebrow, impressed by Chansey's Seismic Toss, as he recalled Chimchar. He turned to Riolu, who nodded and stepped forwards.

"Riolu, Brick Break!" Harry ordered. Riolu jumped at Chansey and shattered her Reflect, sending her rolling backwards.

"Attract!" called Cheryl and Chansey winked at Riolu and pink hearts struck him. Riolu's eyes turned into hearts too.

"Riolu, don't let that Attract distract you!" Harry called but Riolu didn't seem to hear him.

"Egg Bomb!" Cheryl ordered. Chansey took her egg out of her pouch and hurled it at Riolu. It exploded on contact and knocked the Fighting type off his feet.

"Riolu, you've got to fight back!" shouted Harry, "Use Force Palm!" Riolu picked himself up but as he was about to lunge, he stopped when he realised how attractive his opponent was.

"Seismic Toss!" Cheryl ordered. Chansey grabbed Riolu, jumped into the air, somersaulted and hurled him to the ground. The hearts disappeared from Riolu's eyes but he didn't get up, "Yes! Well done, Chansey!"

"Chansey!" cried the Egg Pokemon as Cheryl gave her a hug. Harry recalled Riolu.

"Attract really can mess up a Pokemon of the opposite gender," he muttered, "Have a rest, Riolu." He smiled at Cheryl, "Congratulations Cheryl. I hope you find a male Burmy or a Mothim soon."

"Me too," Cheryl said as she recalled her Chansey. Harry waved to her and walked away.

* * *

Harry was lost again. The map was useless in Eterna Forest even if Harry was an expert at reading it, so all he could do was wander around aimlessly. Then he had an idea.

"Drifloon, come out," he let Drifloon out of her Poke Ball, "I need you to fly above the trees and point me in the direction of the nearest town." Drifloon nodded and floated above the forest, before scanning the area. She pointed her arms to the east, "Thanks!" Harry held up her Poke Ball but a sudden gust of wind blew Drifloon away, "Drifloon!"

"Floon!" Drifloon called back as she was blown into another part of the forest. Harry went to look for her, letting out Riolu who had recovered from his battle with Chansey. Riolu scanned around with Aura but at the moment, Drifloon was out of range.

"Combee!" called several voices and a swarm of bee like Pokemon with three faces buzzed past.

" _Combee the Tiny Bee Pokemon. Only females can evolve and they are much rarer than males. Combee constantly gathers honey from flowers to please Vespiquen._ "

The swarm of Combee ignored Harry and Riolu altogether and continued on their way. Harry and Riolu kept searching for Drifloon.

"Floon!" said the familiar voice and Harry and Riolu found Drifloon playing with a single Combee. This one stood out from the others because of the red patch on the forehead of her lowest face. The female Combee playfully buzzed around Drifloon who was trying to catch her with her arms.

"Made a new friend, Drifloon?" Harry called. Drifloon saw him and nodded happily.

"Riolu, Riolu," Riolu said pointing to the Combee. Harry examined her then looked at his pokedex to check its gender.

"That Combee's female," he asked and Riolu nodded, "Which means she can evolve into Vespiquen. That would be a good Pokemon to have."

"Combee!" yelled a voice and the female Combee stopped playing as a group of males appeared. The leading male seemed angry, "Com! Combee! Bee!" The female Combee looked ashamed of herself. Harry wondered what the male had said to her. "Com!" The male jerked his three heads and the female hovered towards him dejectedly.

"Hey Combee!" Harry called. All of them looked up, "Female Combee." Only the female paid attention to him, "What did he say to you?" As soon as he said it, Harry realized how stupid that question was. He could get the gist of what his own Pokemon were saying but he had no idea what the female Combee said when she answered.

"Combee, bee, Com," the female responded.

"Forget it; I don't understand you," Harry said "Look you can become a Vespiquen one day. These losers can't so don't let them push you around." Combee looked at her male counterparts. Each of them stacked themselves on top of each other to create a wall. The female sweatdropped, "You could become far stronger than those men," Harry told her, "You don't need to obey them."

"Bee, Combee," Combee said. Harry wasn't sure what she was saying but guessed that she was more worried about the Vespiquen that led the swarm than her subordinates.

"Is this about angering Vespiquen?" he asked. Combee bobbed up and down in a nod, "Well, I don't like tyrants. I guess you don't want to spend the rest of your life serving the swarm, do you?" Combee shook her head, or rather her whole body, "You prefer to be yourself and have fun, right?" Combee nodded. Drifloon floated forwards and gave her a gentle hug with Constrict, "Well how about you come with me?" Combee looked surprised by the offer. The males all buzzed angrily but Harry ignored them, "Drifloon would be happy to play with you and you could get out and see the world."

"Combee!" yelled the males.

"Oh go away!" Harry snapped. The males all lunged but Drifloon and the female Combee summoned a double Gust to blow them all away. Riolu added Hidden Power into the combination to scare off any stragglers. The female Combee now looked much happier. Then she faced Harry and buzzed challengingly, "Want to battle?"

"Bee," said Combee, jerking up and down in a nod.

"Alright," Harry glanced at Drifloon but the Balloon Pokemon shook her head. Evidently she didn't want to fight her new friend, "Okay, go Shinx!" The Flash Pokemon appeared, stretched his muscles and sparked.

Combee started the battle by flapping her wings and creating red sound waves which made a loud buzzing sound. Shinx grimaced as the Bug Buzz washed over him. The sound waves actually pushed him back a couple of feet.

"Use Attract!" Harry called. Shinx winked and pink hearts shot towards Combee. The Tiny Bee Pokemon instantly became infatuated, "Now use Howl." Shinx Howled and raised his Attack power. Combee still stared at him lovingly, "Spark!" Shinx tackled Combee with an electrically charged tackle and knocked her to the ground.

Harry threw a Poke Ball and captured Combee. He patted Shinx's head gratefully before returning him to his Poke Ball. Then he recalled Drifloon too and turned to Riolu.

"Come on, Riolu," he said, "Let's get out of here before another swarm of Combee shows up."

 **Chansey actually was able to learn Reflect in the Generation 1 Pokemon games but, presumably just to annoy players who wanted Reflect to make up for Chansey's low Defence, she hasn't been able to learn it in any other Generation.**


	9. Events in Eterna City

**Thank you to the two people who've reviewed and the three people who are following the story. Martyn, I _might_ have Harry show fear of a Pokémon in the future, but it depends on whether I can fit it seamlessly into the story. **

The Gym Leader was apparently out training in Eterna Forest when Harry arrived in Eterna City, so he had to wait until the next day. Instead he explored the city. Eterna City was prettier than Oreburgh City. Harry visited the Eterna Historical Museum which had many of Sinnoh's myths and legends recorded inside it. After familiarising himself with the legends of Arceus, Dialga, Palkia and Giratina, Harry also found a bicycle shop. He grimaced when he saw how expensive the bikes were.

"Damn," he muttered, "I can't afford that."

He returned to the Pokemon Centre and let his six Pokémon out of their Poke Balls. If he was going to add another to his team, he'd need to return one of them to his grandfather's lab at some point. He mentally decided that the first one who evolved would return to the lab.

* * *

The Gym Leader, Gardenia, returned from her training the next day. Harry went to the gym as soon as he heard she was back. A woman with a Nuzleaf answered the door.

"Hi," Harry said, "I'd like to challenge Gardenia please."

"Come back in an hour," said the woman, "Gardenia wants to spend some time with the Pokemon she left here first."

Harry wandered around the city for an hour. He briefly met the owner of the bicycle shop who was playing with a Clefairy. Then he returned to the gym. Gardenia, who looked like she was in her late teens or early twenties, greeted him enthusiastically.

"Welcome to the Eterna City Gym," she said, leading him to the battle room which was quite simply a mini-forest, complete with trees. Unlike the Oreburgh Gym, this one had an open roof. The woman with the Nuzleaf, obviously the referee, was waiting for them. Harry scanned Nuzleaf.

" _Nuzleaf the Wily Pokemon and evolved form of Seedot. It lives in overgrown forests and occasionally likes to frighten travelers. It hates having its long nose pinched._ "

"Ready for our battle?" Gardenia called energetically.

"Yep," Harry said and glanced at the referee and her Nuzleaf to hear the rules.

"This will be a three on three battle," the referee said, "The challenger will be allowed to substitute Pokemon but the Gym Leader will not."

"Alright then Victreebel, let's go," Gardenia threw a Poke Ball and a bell shaped Pokemon with a huge gaping mouth, two large leaves on its sides and a long brown vine on its head appeared.

" _Victreebel, the Flycatcher Pokemon and final form of Bellsprout. It uses its long vine to attract and grab its prey before it swallows them whole. It has acid in its stomach to dissolve the prey._ "

"Okay, go Drifloon!" Harry sent out the Balloon Pokemon who twirled in the air and briefly used Constrict on him affectionately, before facing Victreebel.

"Begin!" said the referee.

"Drifloon, Ominous Wind!" Harry called. Drifloon spun on the spot and sent a dark gust of wind which washed over Victreebel, causing it to wince.

"Sunny Day!" Gardenia ordered and Victreebel shot a beam of bright light into the sky. The clouds above the gym parted and the sun seemed to shine even brighter than usual.

"Constrict!" Harry called. Drifloon flew at Victreebel and reached out her thin arms to Constrict the Grass type.

"Dodge it!" Gardenia said and Victreebel moved with surprising speed darting away from Drifloon, "Solarbeam!" Victreebel opened its mouth and absorbed the sunlight before unleashing a powerful beam towards Drifloon. The Balloon Pokemon was blasted into a tree by the beam, "Victreebel use Leaf Blade!" The leaves on Victreebel's sides stiffened and she lunged at Drifloon.

"Minimize!" Harry yelled and Drifloon decreased in size, barely avoiding the sharp leaves before returning to her normal size, "Now Constrict!" Drifloon wrapped her arms around Victreebel and squeezed hard.

"Victreebel, Poison Powder!" called Gardenia. Victreebell sprayed a poisonous powder over Drifloon who released her and backed off, glowing purple as the poison took effect, "Leaf Blade!" Victreebel slashed Drifloon with its sharpened leaves and the Balloon Pokemon fell to the ground.

"Drifloon is unable to battle!" called the referee, "Victreebel wins."

"Nuzleaf!" said her Nuzleaf, mimicking her movements as she gestured to the victorious Victreebel.

"Thanks Drifloon," Harry said, "Take a break. Go Chimchar!" The Chimp Pokemon appeared and smirked as she felt the bright sun warming her body, "Let's get this done, Chimchar. Flame Wheel!" Chimchar rolled towards Victreebel.

"Dodge it and use Solarbeam!" ordered Gardenia and Victreebel darted away from Chimchar, turned and launched a Solarbeam which struck Chimchar before she could even turn around, "Fire type moves may gain power in Sunny Day but that means nothing if they miss. Chlorophyll is useful. Leaf Blade!"

"Chimchar, into the trees!" Harry ordered and Chimchar reacted swiftly leaping towards the nearest branch.

"Not so fast!" Gardenia called, "Vine Whip!" The vine on Victreebel's head seized Chimchar's leg before she could escape and yanked her away from the tree before slamming her onto the ground hard. "Solarbeam!" Victreebel opened her mouth but in her excitement, Gardenia hadn't noticed that the Sunny Day had worn off. Harry noticed Victreebel wasn't firing immediately and seized the opening.

"Flame Wheel!" Chimchar rolled towards Victreebel and slammed into the unfortunate Grass type before she could finish charging.

"Victreebel is unable to battle!" cried the referee," Chimchar wins!"

"Nuzleaf!" said the Nuzleaf.

"Good work, Victreebel," said Gardenia, "Guess I got a little overconfident. Turtwig, let's go!" Harry had already studied Turtwig with his grandfather as a child, but when it appeared, he decided to see what the pokedex had to say anyway. Apart from the incident with J, where he'd been distracted, he'd made a habit of doing that.

" _Turtwig, the Tiny Leaf Pokemon. It undertakes photosynthesis in its body to make oxygen. Its leaves wilt when it is thirsty._ "

"Chimchar, Flame Wheel!" Harry ordered and Chimchar obeyed. Turtwig just smiled. Then she dodged even more quickly than Victreebel did. She was so fast she had moved like a blur, "What?" Harry was shocked by Turtwig's speed. Turtwig continued smiling at Chimchar, "Okay, try Fire Spin!"

"Char!" Chimchar fired the spiral of flames. Once again, Turtwig moved unbelievably fast to dodge the attack. Gardenia hadn't even said a word since sending it out. Harry had always assumed that Turtwig was only moderately fast but this one's speed was astonishing, not to mention it was so well trained that it didn't even need its trainer to command it to dodge.

"Turtwig use Leaf Storm!" Gardenia ordered and Turtwig summoned a swirling whirlwind of leaves around her body and aimed the storm at Chimchar. The Chimp was blown off her feet and hurled into the gym wall.

"Chimchar!" Harry gaped stupidly at the unconscious Fire type. Chimchar had fought a Rampardos to a draw but couldn't even touch a Turtwig? Admittedly Rampardos had already been damaged from fighting Riolu and Chimchar had a boost from Blaze but still, getting her flaming backside handed to her by a Turtwig was not only incredible but rather embarrassing.

"Chimchar is unable to battle, Turtwig wins!"

"Nuzleaf!"

"Chimchar return," Harry recalled the Chimp and turned back to Gardenia, "I didn't know it was possible for a Turtwig to move so quickly." He hesitated. Type wise, Combee had the advantage but Harry wasn't sure she could match up to Turtwig's Speed. Riolu had decent Speed, especially when using Quick Attack, but still wasn't fast enough to keep up with Turtwig. Shinx's Electric attacks wouldn't do much damage and Buizel was at a disadvantage. Finally Harry decided, "Go Combee!"

"Combee!" cried the Tiny Bee Pokemon happily. She buzzed slightly as she faced Turtwig.

"A female Combee," Gardenia noted, "I guess you want a Vespiquen."

"Obviously," Harry said, "Combee use Gust!" Combee flapped her wings rapidly, blowing a Gust of wind at Turtwig. Once again, Gardenia didn't even tell Turtwig to move. She simple darted away and sheltered from the wind behind a tree until the Gust was over.

"Use Bite!" called Gardenia and Turtwig darted out from her hiding place and clamped her large jaws shut on Combee. She squealed in pain and tried to shake her off, but Turtwig was heavier and pulled her down before tossing her aside.

"Bug Bite!" Harry called and Combee opened all three of her mouths, which seemed embarrassingly feeble compared to Turtwig's large jaws. Once again Turtwig dodged it effortlessly. The darn thing still has a smile on her face, as if the battle was just a game to her! "We need to slow that Turtwig down. Sweet Scent!"

"Cooom," Combee flapped her wings gently this time and a sweet smell wafted through the gym. Turtwig closed her eyes and inhaled the Sweet Scent.

"Bug Buzz!" Turtwig was rudely brought back to reality by loud, buzzing sound waves. She grimaced and staggered, "Now Bug Bite!" Combee snapped all three of her mouths shut on Turtwig's sprout and leaves. Despite being super effective, it seemed to do little more than irritate the Grass type.

"Leaf Storm!" called Gardenia.

"That won't hurt Combee, especially since its Turtwig's second Leaf Storm," Harry said confidently.

"I know," Gardenia said as Turtwig summoned a storm of leaves around herself and Combee. Harry was right; the Leaf Storm wasn't hurting Combee but it was distracting her and Turtwig managed to break away from her Bug Bite, "Leech Seed!"

"Twig," Turtwig lowered her head and the sprout on her head released a brown seed at Combee. The seed landed right on the red patch on Combee's lowest face and sprouted vines which wrapped around her. Combee squealed as she glowed red, showing that her energy was being drained.

"Tackle!" Gardeina ordered. Turtwig shot forwards and slammed into Combee sending her crashing to the ground. Surprisingly the Tackle itself didn't finish her off as she buzzed weakly and tried to get back into the air. Then she glowed red again and collapsed.

"Combee is unable to battle, Turtwig wins," the referee and her Nuzleaf gestured to Gardenia, "And that means the Gym Leader Gardenia has won the battle!"

Harry stared at the still smiling Turtwig. He was fairly sure the Tiny Leaf Pokemon was mocking him. He sighed and recalled Combee. Like in his first battle with Roark, Gardenia had defeated him with only two Pokemon.

"Looks like my Pokemon need to get faster," Harry mumbled, then turned and walked out of the gym.

* * *

Harry was training his Pokemon to be faster when he heard someone yelling.

"Help me! Somebody, stop that thief!" Harry and his Pokemon ran towards the yelling and found the man who owned the bicycle shop looking very distressed.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked.

"That thug stole my Clefairy!" wailed the man, "He ran to that building over there!" He pointed to a building that didn't look out of the ordinary.

"Get the police," Harry said, "I'll see if I can find your Clefairy."

"Thank you!" said the bicycle shop owner. Harry recalled all his Pokemon except Riolu and hurried towards the building.

"Riolu!" Riolu grabbed his hand outside the building. Harry glanced down at him, and remembered the time when Riolu had been kidnapped by J. He hesitated. Maybe he should wait for the police.

"Riolu, you stay in your Poke Ball for now," he decided, "I won't reveal you to the thieves unless I have to." He recalled Riolu, who didn't look happy about his decision but didn't protest. Harry slipped into the building.

The lobby was deserted, which was a relief. Harry took the first flight of steps. The next floor was occupied by people wearing a familiar uniform with the letter G on it.

"Oh damn," Harry muttered. He'd been hoping he would just be dealing with random thieves. He hid behind some boxes and considered going back. The last time he'd done something like this, he'd been bound and gagged. On the other hand, he'd also found and caught Drifloon because he'd been nosey. Harry decided to keep going.

Evidently Team Galactic had not expected anyone to infiltrate their building because there wasn't much security. All Harry had to do was hide whenever the grunts went by. He reached the top floor without much difficulty and didn't have to use a single Pokemon to get there.

He saw a purple haired woman with her back to him. She was examining several cages, one of which contained a Clefairy. There were a few other Pokemon too but while Clefairy was crying, the others just looked dejected, as if they'd accepted their situation. Harry felt sorry for them.

"Commander Jupiter!" a voice sounded through a radio on the woman's belt, "Someone must have ratted us out! The police are on their way!"

"Damn," snapped the woman, grabbing the radio before replying "Stall them as long as you can." She turned and saw Harry. She raised an eyebrow, "Oh, hello. I assume you're the rat?"

"Let those Pokemon go," Harry said coldly.

"Oh these?" Jupiter gestured at the Pokemon prisoners, "Their trainers weren't too bothered about losing them. Some of them were happy to get rid of them." Harry looked at the dejected Pokemon. From the way they looked, Jupiter might not be telling a complete lie, but at the very least Clefairy's owner was worried about it.

"It's not right to keep them locked up!" Harry said. Jupiter raised her eyebrows.

"Don't all trainers do that?" she said. Harry blinked and realised she was referring to Poke Balls, "Enough talk. I don't like rats and neither does my Skuntank. Go!" A large, skunk like Pokemon appeared. Without taking his eyes off the creature, Harry looked it up in the pokedex.

" _Skuntank the Skunk Pokemon and evolved form of Stunky. Skuntank sprays its opponents with a foul smelling liquid which is also flammable._ "

"Go Shinx!" Harry sent out the Electric type, "Attract!" Shinx winked and hearts shot out towards Skuntank.

"Night Slash!" Jupiter ordered and Skuntank's claws glowed black. She slashed through each heart before they could affect her. Harry hadn't known Attract could be blocked like that, "Flamethrower!"

"Skuntank!" said Skuntank and shot a stream of flames from her mouth. Shinx screamed in pain and fell to the ground. Harry recalled him.

"Buizel you're up! Use Aqua Jet!" Buizel had barely left the Poke Ball before he obeyed the command and rammed into Skuntank, "Now Sonicboom!"

"Night Slash!" called Jupiter. Just as she had done with the Attract, Skuntank destroyed Sonicboom with her glowing black claws, "Use Poison Jab!" Skuntank's claws glowed purple this time and she thrust one paw into Buizel's belly. The Sea Weasel Pokemon felt poison course through his body and collapsed. Harry recalled him too.

"Chimchar go!" Chimchar somersaulted out of her Poke Ball, "Fire Spin!"

"Hyper Beam!" Jupiter said in a bored voice. Skuntank formed a yellow orb in her mouth and shot a yellow beam from the orb which collided with the spiral of incoming flames. The Hyper Beam broke through Fire Spin effortlessly and sent Chimchar flying. Harry took out her Poke Ball and returned her, gritting his teeth in frustration. He was doing no better against Jupiter than he had against her colleague, Mars. Then he remembered the side effect of Hyper Beam.

"Riolu, hit Skuntank while it's recharging!" he sent out his Starter Pokemon, "Force Palm!" Riolu thrust a Force Palm into Skuntank's face and sent her flying, "Now Quick Attack!" Skuntank barely had time to get up before Riolu rammed his small body into her.

"Poison Jab!" Jupiter called and Skuntank thrust her poisonous claws into Riolu's chest. Riolu gritted his teeth in pain.

"Brick Break!" Harry called and Riolu, with Skuntank's poisonous, sharp claws still in his chest, smashed a Brick Break into the Skunk Pokemon's head before collapsing. Unfortunately since Skuntank's tail lay across her back and stretched all the way to her skull, it absorbed most of the blow so she was still standing.

"Is this really the best you can do?" sneered Jupiter, "Pathetic." Harry recalled Riolu. He wondered what was taking the police so long to get here. As he was thinking that footsteps sounded on the stairs and a moment later several Police Officers arrived. Predictably they were led by Officer Jenny.

"Hold it right there!" Jenny cried. She had a Growlithe by her side, "You're under arrest Galactic Commander Jupiter."

"Oh you just had to interrupt our battle, didn't you," Jupiter said in mock irritation, "No matter. Skuntank use Smokescreen!" Skuntank belched a thick cloud of smoke from her mouth. Harry realised what Jupiter was doing and quickly summoned Drifloon and Combee. Riolu would be able to see through Smokescreen but that Poison Jab had hurt him badly, not to mention he'd been forced to have prolonged contact with Skuntank's lethal claws with it in order to land that Brick Break.

"Use Gust to blow Smokescreen away!" he ordered and the two Pokemon obeyed. Unfortunately a door at the back of the room was already sliding shut. Harry glimpsed Jupiter and her Skuntank just before the door slammed.

"Damn!" Officer Jenny said angrily. Her Growlithe barked with annoyance. Harry sighed, then remembered the captive Pokemon.

"Drifloon, your lock picking skills would be useful now," he said. Drifloon bobbed up and down and went to Clefairy's cage, using her string like arms to unlock it. The police set to work freeing the other Pokemon.

* * *

"Thank you so much for saving my Clefairy!" said the owner of the bicycle shop who had visited the Pokemon Centre to thank Harry whilst his Pokemon were being healed, "How can I ever repay you?" Harry was about to say there was no need but then realized he could take advantage of the situation.

"Actually there is one thing you can do," he said, "You can give me a bike." The man looked surprised by the request. He hesitated. His Clefairy, who was in his arms, made the decision for him.

"Fairy!" she said. The man relented.

"Alright," he agreed, "Because you stopped those thugs from taking my Clefairy with them when they escaped, I'll give you a free bike."

"Thank you," Harry said.


	10. Garden Gym Battle

**In answer to QUEENSPELLER67's question, Harry isn't afraid of Pokémon in general but Martyn suggested that he show fear of Ghost types (and it's been established he's not afraid of them) or Mightyena. I might have him show fear of a species of Pokémon in the future, but not Pokémon as a whole.**

Riolu still had bandages on his chest where Skuntank's Poison Jab had hit him. Nurse Joy advised that Riolu shouldn't do anything strenuous for at least a week, so Harry decided that the Emanation Pokémon should stay out of training in his condition. Riolu watched while he trained the other five members of the team. During training Drifloon learned a new attack.

"Good work, guys," Harry said when they were finished and then turned to Riolu, "Are you alright Riolu?" Riolu shrugged but looked at his trainer with a somewhat reproachful expression, "I know. You're not happy that I stormed the Team Galactic's building. But there were Pokemon in trouble."

"Riolu, Ri," Riolu pointed at his new bike.

"Oh come on, that's not fair!" Harry protested, "You know I only came up with the idea of getting the bike _after_ the rescue." Riolu huffed and folded his arms, gingerly so he didn't aggravate his injured chest, "Look I'm sorry. I know I don't think ahead enough."

"Riolu," Riolu nodded grumpily and gestured to his chest.

"And I know you got hurt because of it," Harry said, "But you get hurt in battle all the time." Riolu looked at him for a moment, then jumped and slammed a Brick Break onto his trainer's head. He didn't use his full strength but it still hurt, "Ow! What was that…?"

Harry stopped as he realized what Riolu was trying to say. The truth was, Harry himself didn't actually take blows from opposing Pokemon. His Pokemon did. Riolu was annoyed that he and the other members of Harry's team kept getting hurt whilst Harry didn't get hurt himself.

"Do you just want to quit battling altogether?" Harry asked, rubbing his throbbing head. Riolu shook his head, "But you want me to take a hit from time to time?" Riolu nodded, "Okay. Hit me with Hidden Power then." Riolu did so, forming the orbs around his body and firing them without hesitation.

Harry felt a strange sensation as the orbs struck him. He had never been hit by a Psychic type move before but it was like being engulfed in mystical energy as each orb touched him. Riolu's Hidden Power must be a Psychic type move. Harry hit the ground hard.

"Is that a Psychic type Hidden Power?" he asked, rubbing his head as he sat up. Riolu nodded, "Well getting hit by that helped me get to know you a little better, Riolu." Riolu smiled, looking satisfied.

* * *

Rather than stand beside his trainer as he normally would, Riolu sat in the stands around the Eterna Gym's mini-forest battlefield, since he knew Harry wouldn't use him in this battle. Harry faced Gardenia while the referee and her Nuzleaf took their positions.

"The rules will be the same as before," said the referee.

"Nuzleaf," said Nuzleaf, mimicking her movements like before.

"Go Roserade!" Gardenia sent out a Pokemon that resembled a bouquet of roses with a long green cape appeared.

" _Roserade the Bouquet Pokemon and final form of Bedew. The stronger its poison, the sweeter its aroma. It uses the aroma to lure in its prey._ "

"Go Drifloon!" Harry released the Balloon Pokemon. The referee signalled for the battle to begin and Harry didn't waste time, "Use Ominous Wind!" Drifloon spun and sent a gust of dark wind towards Roserade. Roserade winced but held its ground.

"Magical Leaf!" Gardenia ordered and Roserade spun around quickly and released glowing light green leaves from its body at Drifloon.

"Minimize!" Harry called and Drifloon shrank her body. To Harry's surprise however, the leaves all turned in mid-air and struck the now tiny Drifloon who squealed.

"Magical Leaf never misses," Gardenia informed him, "Roserade use Rain Dance!" Roserade raised its arms and created storm clouds above the battlefield, making it rain.

"Drifloon, use Constrict!" Drifloon reached out towards Roserade.

"Flash!" called Gardenia and Roserade's body flashed with a bright light. Drifloon shut her eyes as she was temporarily blinded by the light, "Now Weather Ball!"

"Roooserade!" Roserade raised its arms and formed another blue ball, although this one was a darker shade than the one that created the Rain Dance. Roserade hurled the Water type Weather Ball at Drifloon and the attack sent her skidding back along the ground.

"Drifloon, are you okay?" asked Harry.

"Now use Magical Leaf!" Gardenia called and Roserade sent the unavoidable leaves towards Drifloon.

"Drifloon return!" Harry quickly recalled his Pokemon. Fortunately the Magical Leaf couldn't follow Drifloon back to her Poke Ball so she was safe for now, "Combee, you're up!" The Tiny Bee Pokemon appeared and buzzed threateningly at Roserade, angry that the Grass type had hurt her friend.

"Roserade, Weather Ball!" Gardenia ordered and Roserade hurled the attack at Combee.

"Dodge and use Bug Buzz!" Harry ordered and Combee, having grown faster since her battle with Turtwig, darted away from the Weather Ball and sent red sound waves washing over Roserade who winced with discomfort.

"Roserade use Magical Leaf!" Roserade obeyed and sent the glowing leaves flying at Combee. Harry just smirked.

"Charge into it!" Harry called. Combee flew straight towards the Magical Leaf, shrugging off each of the green leaves when they hit her, "Bug Bite!" Combee closed all three of her mouths on Roserade's cape. Roserade twisted around, trying to shake her off but Combee held firm, "Now Bug Buzz!" Still holding Roserade with her mouths, Combee buzzed very loudly in the unfortunate Grass type's ears.

"Roserade, Poison Sting!" Gardenia ordered and Roserade shot a spray of purple darts from its mouth at Combee. It couldn't aim easily because Combee was still biting on its cape but it hit her nonetheless and she released it with a squeal of pain.

"Combee, Gust attack!" Harry ordered and Combee flapped her wings as hard as she could. Roserade tried to hold its ground but Combee's Gust was strong enough to blow it off its feet. Roserade slammed into a tree and collapsed.

"Roserade's unable to battle, Combee wins!"

"Well done, Combee," Harry said while Combee squealed happily, pleased with her first victory, "You'll be a Vespiquen in no time."

"Good job Roserade, get some rest," Gardenia said as she recalled the Bouquet Pokemon, "Victreebel, let's go!" The Flycatcher Pokemon appeared and screeched at Combee.

"Use Bug Buzz!" Harry ordered and Combee sent red sound waves washing over Victreebel.

"Victreebel, use Slam!" ordered Gardenia and Victreebel wrapped its vine around the branches of one of the trees before jumping, swinging itself forwards, and slamming its entire body into Combee knocking her to the ground.

"Combee is unable to battle, Victreebel wins!"

"Well done Combee, take a break," Harry looked up at the sky. Roserade's Rain Dance had ended but Harry decided not to use Chimchar just yet, "Go Drifloon!" Drifloon emerged again, "Time to show Gardenia your new attack. Acrobatics!"

"Drifloon!" Drifloon shot towards Victreebel with enough speed to leave two after images behind her. She rammed into Victreebel and sent it sprawling.

"So you're Drifloon's learned Acrobatics huh?" Gardenia said, "Alright use Sunny Day!"

"You're fond of weather moves aren't you?" Harry commented as Victreebel brightened the sunlight.

"They're useful," said Gardenia, "Solarbeam!"

"Minimize!" Harry ordered. Victreebel fired Solarbeam swiftly but Drifloon managed to decrease her size just in time and the attack passed harmlessly over her now miniaturized head. She returned to her normal size as soon as Solarbeam stopped, "Use Acrobatics!"

"Dodge it!" Gardenia ordered. Despite Drifloon's improved Speed, Victreebel managed to avoid the attack. Drifloon ascended into the air and turned, ready for Victreebel's counterstrike, "Swing yourself after Drifloon!" Victreebel wrapped its vine around a branch and swung itself into the air after the Balloon Pokemon, "Leaf Blade!"

"Minimize!" Harry ordered again and Drifloon shrunk again causing Victreebel's sharpened leaves to miss her as she manoeuvred around it, "Constrict!" Drifloon regained her normal size and squeezed Victreebel tightly.

"Poison Powder!" Gardenia shouted.

"Move back and use Gust!" Harry instructed just in time. Drifloon released Victreebel and retreated before unleashing a Gust attack which was not only super effective on Victreebel but blew away Poison Powder at the same time. Victreebel fell to the ground hard.

"It's not over yet!" Gardenia shouted, "Solarbeam!"

"Acrobatics!" Harry commanded. This time Drifloon didn't bother using Minimize instead darting away from Solarbeam and leaving behind after images before slamming into Victreebel. Not only had Drifloon landed a devastating blow, but the speed of her Acrobatics enabled her to avoid Solarbeam at the same time. Victreebel crashed to the ground.

"Victreebel is unable to battle, Drifloon wins!"

"Excellent Drifloon!" Harry said, "Your Acrobatics was perfect."

"Floon!" said Drifloon happily.

"Good battle Victreebel, have a rest," said Gardenia, "Let's go, Turtwig!" Turtwig appeared and looked up at Drifloon.

"Alright Drifloon, Acrobatics!" Harry ordered. Drifloon shot at Turtwig. Fast as she was, Turtwig was faster and dodged the attack with ease, "Keep going, Drifloon." Drifloon darted back at Turtwig but even with her full Speed, she couldn't keep up with the agile Grass type.

"Turtwig, Leech Seed!" ordered Gardenia. Turtwig had to slow down for just a second to launch the seed from the sprout on her head. That was all Harry needed.

"Constrict!" Even as Leech Seed's vines were wrapping around her and draining her energy, Drifloon grabbed Turtwig with her thin arms, "Keep hold of it and use Acrobatics!"

"Drifloon!" Drifloon said and, still holding Turtwig, darted to Gardenia's side of the field, leaving behind two after images before letting go of the Grass type and tossing her into the wall.

"Nice move," Gardenia complimented, "But it's not over. Turtwig, Bite!" Turtwig picked herself up and darted at Drifloon, closing her powerful jaws around her head. For a moment, Harry wasn't sure how Bite could have worked, incorrectly thinking it was a Normal type move. Then he remembered that not only did it affect Ghosts, but it was also super effective as it was actually a Dark type move.

"Use Minimize to escape!" He ordered and Drifloon shrank herself again and darted out from between Turtwig's jaws before returning to her true size, "Acrobatics!" Drifloon was about to execute the move when Leech Seed kicked in again, disrupting her focus. Turtwig easily avoided the Balloon Pokémon's clumsy attack and stood there, smiling while Leech Seed drained Drifloon's energy.

"Bite and then throw it Turtwig!" called Gardenia and Turtwig jumped, bit Drifloon's head with her powerful jaws, then somersaulted and threw the Balloon Pokémon to the ground.

"Drifloon's unable to battle, Turtwig wins!"

"You were wonderful, Drifloon," Harry said as he recalled her, "That Constrict and Acrobatics combination caused a lot of damage. Take a break." Turtwig was still smiling but did seem a bit worn out. Harry released his last Pokemon, "Go Chimchar!"

"Chimchar!" Chimchar said and glared at Turtwig. She wasn't going to let this Grass type humiliate her like last time!

"Chimchar use Flame Wheel!" Harry ordered and Chimchar somersaulted towards Turtwig in a wheel of fire. Turtwig darted away.

"Bite!" Gardenia ordered as Chimchar emerged from her Flame Wheel. Turtwig shot towards Chimchar with her jaws wide open.

"Into the trees!" Harry commanded and Chimchar jumped, grabbed a branch and swung herself into the small trees, narrowly avoiding the Bite attack, "Fire Spin." Unfortunately Chimchar's orange colour and flaming bottom didn't provide her with much camouflage so Turtwig saw the Fire Spin and dodged it with ease. It left a scorched mark on the ground. Harry glanced at the scorch mark, then at the trees around the battlefield.

"Turtwig get Chimchar out of the trees!" yelled Gardenia, "Leaf Storm!" Turtwig summoned the storm and shot it up into the trees. This Leaf Storm stripped leaves from the branches as well as using the leaves Turtwig had summoned, making the attack even more powerful. Chimchar was blown into the air and then fell a long way. Harry caught her, wincing slightly as her flaming backside burned his clothes.

"You okay, Chimchar?" he said concerned. Chimchar nodded at, then jumped out of her trainer's arms, back onto the battlefield. That Leaf Storm had hurt but she was determined not to get beaten again.

In the stands, Riolu looked at the scorch mark on his trainer's clothes and smiled approvingly. Harry caught the Emanation Pokemon's eye, saw he was looking at the place where Chimchar had burned him, and understood that Riolu approved of the fact that he'd hurt himself in order to catch her. He refocused on the battle.

"Alright Chimchar, jump into the trees and use Flame Wheel!" Harry ordered and Chimchar jumped, rolling in mid-air and setting the trees on fire. Turtwig's eyes widened in fear as she realized what Chimchar was doing.

"Leaf Storm!" Gardenia cried and Turtwig hastily summoned the storm but this time it missed altogether. By now Chimchar was setting the small bushes on fire too. Harry had a hand on Buizel's Poke Ball just in case the fire got out of control. He wasn't entirely sure if this was legal but it was the only thing he could think of to limit Turtwig's mobility. Now there was only a narrow strip of battlefield that wasn't on fire remaining and Turtwig had nowhere to run.

"Tur," Turtwig looked at the flames around her. She was no longer smiling. Chimchar stood opposite her with a smirk.

"Leaf Storm again!" Gardenia yelled, starting to panic. Turtwig obeyed but this time Chimchar simply stood there. This was the third Leaf Storm and Chimchar was resistant to Grass type moves anyway so she just gave Turtwig an annoying smile like the one the Grass type usually gave. Gardenia gritted her teeth, "Turtwig, Tackle attack!"

"Flame Wheel!" Harry countered. Turtwig hurled herself at Chimchar but was no match for the Fire type's Flame Wheel. The attack sent her tumbling to the ground.

"Turtwig!" cried Gardenia who was now sweating from the heat. Harry really hoped that Flame Wheel had knocked Turtwig out because he needed to put out this fire. The referee glanced at Turtwig, swiftly analysing her condition.

"Turtwig is unable to battle," she announced, "Chimchar wins and the victory goes to the challenger Harry Rowan."

"Well done, Chimchar," Harry said swiftly, "Go Buizel!" The Water type emerged and looked around the burning mini-forest. Fortunately the fire was only on the battlefield. Harry had a feeling that if Chimchar had used her Blaze ability, Gardenia might have to rebuild her gym, "Water Gun and Water Pulse!"

"Bui!" Buizel splashed a Water Pulse over the battlefield. Chimchar jumped into the trees to avoid it, being the only one who was unbothered by the fire. Buizel then squirted Water Gun into the trees, being careful not to hit Chimchar in the process, and successfully put out the fire. By now there were no leaves left on the trees. Harry grimaced, wondering if Gardenia would be angry at the state of her gym. The Gym Leader came towards him without any expression.

Then she smiled.

"Congratulations," she said, "And thanks for not burning down my gym." Harry smiled uncertainly as she held out a badge, "You've earned the Forest Badge." Harry took the badge. Riolu hopped down from the stands and joined his trainer. Chimchar jumped onto Harry's shoulder while Buizel stood next to him.

"Sorry about…" Harry gestured at the destroyed mini-forest. Gardenia waved her hand dismissively.

"Don't be," she said, "A good trainer uses the battlefield to their advantage and that's exactly what you did. I'm just glad the fire was restricted to the battlefield not the whole gym." Harry smiled a bit more genuinely.

"So am I," he said, "Thank you, Gardenia." He put away the Forest Badge in his badge case and recalled Chimchar and Buizel. He looked down at Riolu, who looked around the destroyed mini-forest. Harry could tell that Riolu didn't approve of his strategy but the Emanation Pokemon just shrugged and gave his trainer a small, congratulatory smile. Harry smiled back and the pair left the gym.


	11. Cynthia

Harry rode his new bike on his way to the next town. Having a light, portable, folding bike was great as he could carry it around with him when he was in an area that made riding it dangerous. Furthermore, Riolu had made a full recovery and no longer seemed annoyed with Harry about what had happened in Eterna City. He had even playfully started racing Harry from time to time whilst Harry was riding the bike. Thanks to Quick Attack, Riolu could move faster than the bike, unless Harry was going downhill. Harry was pleased that Riolu now trusted him enough to mess around with him a bit. Riolu had always been rather withdrawn up until now but now he was opening up a bit. The playful races between them also served to increase Riolu's Speed so they started using it as a form of training as well as for fun.

Harry was nearing Mount Coronet when he found a small village. As he slowed his bike, folded it, put it in its case and began walking, he realized that the citizens seemed rather excited about something. Curiously he followed them to a small ruins on the edge of the town.

Harry stopped in astonishment when he saw a tall, blonde haired young woman studying a carving in the ruins whilst absent-mindedly licking ice cream. Her long hair covered nearly half of her face but Harry had seen her enough times on television to know who she was.

It was Cynthia, the Sinnoh League Champion.

Her presence wasn't the only surprise however. Ash, Dawn and Brock were also there. As they were much less intimidating than the gorgeous Champion, Harry approached them instead.

"Hi guys!" he said. The trio turned.

"Harry!" Ash looked pleased to see him, "What are you doing here?"

"The same as you," Harry said, nodding towards Cynthia.

"How have you been?" asked Brock.

"I've got the Forest Badge and a couple of new Pokemon," Harry said, "Also Riolu seems to like attacking me from time to time. One of these days he might give me a concussion." Riolu chuckled.

"Remember when you used to shock me when we first met Pikachu?" Ash grinned at the Mouse Pokemon on his shoulder who chuckled at the memory. Then Pikachu hopped down and greeted Riolu.

"You know you could have said goodbye when you left last time," Dawn spoke for the first time.

"I'm not one for goodbyes," Harry admitted.

"Hey Ash," said Brock suddenly, "Look who's here." As first everyone assumed he was referring to Cynthia but instead he nodded towards a purple haired boy of about Ash's age. Ash's cheerful expression turned into one of intense dislike when he saw the boy.

"Who's he?" asked Harry.

"That's Paul," Dawn explained, "He and Ash… don't like each other."

"You're Cynthia aren't you?" said Paul to the Champion who until now had seemed oblivious to the crowd behind her. She turned and smiled gently.

"Yes," she said.

"My name is Paul and I'm from Veilstone City," Paul said, "I'd like to challenge you to a battle." Cynthia looked mildly surprised. Everyone else was astonished, hardly able to believe Paul had the guts to challenge the Champion herself outside the Pokemon League.

"Alright then," Cynthia recovered quickly and smiled again, "I accept. How many Pokemon?"

"Is six on six okay with you?" asked Paul.

"No problem," Cynthia replied. The crowd had started muttering amongst each other but both Paul and Cynthia were ignoring them, "Let's get this underway. Garchomp, battle dance!" The magnificent Dragon and Ground type emerged from her Poke Ball with a roar.

"Awesome," said Harry, "I've always wanted a Garchomp." He took out his pokedex but Ash was already scanning Garchomp with his own pokedex.

" _Garchomp, the Mach Pokemon and the evolved form of Gabite. Its body is covered in fine scales that reduce drag, enabling it to move very quickly through the air. It never allows its prey to escape._ "

"Weavile, stand by for battle!" Paul released a black, weasel like Pokemon with sharp claws and a "crown" of feathers on its head. This time Harry scanned it.

" _Weavile the Sharp Claw Pokemon and evolved form of Sneasel. It carves patterns in frost-covered trees, boulders and ice. Only a Sneasel or another Weavile understand what each pattern means_."

"Paul you may have the first attack," Cynthia offered.

"Thanks," grunted Paul, "Blizzard!" Weavile opened its mouth and fired a cold Blizzard at Garchomp. The Mach Pokemon grunted and grimaced from the doubly super effective attack, "Now use Metal Claw!"

"Weavile!" Weavile grinned at Garchomp's discomfort before lunging at her, turning its claws to metal as it moved.

"Flamethrower," Cynthia said calmly. Garchomp straightened up, shrugging off the thin coat of frost the Blizzard had left on her, and launched a stream of fire from her mouth. Weavile screeched in pain and fell to the ground, defeated with a single attack. Paul recalled it without comment.

"How did Garchomp shrug off Blizzard like that?" Dawn asked Brock, "That should have done massive damage!"

"It's true that Blizzard is super effective but the majority of Weavile specialize in Physical Attacks rather than Special Attacks," Brock explained, "Frankly, a Weavile's Special Attack power is generally rather pathetic and evidently Paul's Weavile is no exception."

"I'm surprised Paul hasn't released Weavile then," muttered Ash.

"Ursaring, stand by for battle!" Paul released a large bear like Pokemon. Harry scanned it.

" _Ursaring, the Hibernator Pokemon and evolved form of Teddiursa. Despite its size, Ursaring is skilled at climbing trees. Although aggressive, it is a herbivore and feeds on berries and fruit._ "

"Focus Blast!" Paul ordered and Ursaring formed a large blue orb of energy between its hands and hurled it at Garchomp. With an almost dismissive motion, Garchomp raised her fin and used it to shove the Focus Blast straight back towards Ursaring. The Hibernator Pokemon roared angrily as it was hit by its own attack.

"Dragon Rush!" Cynthia called and Garchomp surrounded herself with blue light and slammed into Ursaring, once again winning with one attack. Paul seemed surprised that Garchomp had deflected Focus Blast so easily but made no comment as he recalled Ursaring.

"Murkrow, stand by for battle!" he released a black bird like Pokemon which was very small and seemed embarrassingly frail compared to Garchomp. This time Dawn scanned it.

" _Murkrow, the Darkness Pokemon. Many people believe that if one sees a Murkrow at night it will bring bad luck._ "

"Use Haze!" Paul ordered. Murkrow opened its beak and a black Haze wafted out and covered the space between Paul and Cynthia. Garchomp disappeared whilst Murkrow's black body enabled it to also blend into the smoke, "Shadow Ball!"

"Murkrow!" said Murkrow's voice. Nobody could see what was happening in the smoke but an aggravated snarl from Garchomp confirmed that the Darkness Pokemon had actually managed to hurt her at least a little bit.

"Clever," Brock said, "Garchomp can't block Murkrow's attacks if it can't see where they're coming from."

"Jump Garchomp!" Cynthia ordered and Garchomp leaped into the air so that she was out of the Haze. A second later Murkrow was behind her.

"Sky Attack!" ordered Paul and Murkrow glowed white.

"Giga Impact!" Cynthia countered and Garchomp surrounded herself with purple and yellow energy before diving to intercept the Sky Attack. Murkrow's frail body was no match for Garchomp's powerful physique and it toppled to the ground as Garchomp emerged from the Giga Impact looking no worse for the wear.

But Paul was smiling.

"Hold on," Ash said in confusion, "What's Paul smiling about?"

"He lost three Pokemon in a row!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Torterra, stand by for battle!" Paul sent out a massive Pokemon shaped like a giant tortoise with three mountain peaks and a large tree on its back. This time it was Ash who scanned the Pokemon.

" _Torterra, the Continent Pokemon and evolved form of Grotle. It often allows small Pokemon to make their nests on its back and is sometimes mistaken for a moving forest._ "

"Leaf Storm!" Paul ordered and Torterra launched a massive Leaf Storm from the tree on its back. It was far more powerful than Gardenia's Turtwig's Leaf Storm and Garchomp was actually pushed back and struggled to keep her balance. For the first time, she actually seemed to be in real pain.

"That's why Paul was smiling!" Brock realized, "A Pokemon has to recharge after using Giga Impact so Paul took advantage of that opening. I think Cynthia got a little overconfident when Paul sent out Murkrow, especially since Garchomp beat Weavile and Ursaring so quickly."

"So even Champions make mistakes," Dawn murmured and Brock nodded.

"Paul sacrificed Weavile, Ursaring and Murkrow just to provoke Garchomp into using Giga Impact?" asked Harry.

"That's the sort of thing Paul does," Ash said darkly. The Leaf Storm ended and Garchomp fell to her knees. That Leaf Storm had actually hurt her more than Weavile's doubly super effective Blizzard did.

"Giga Impact is a powerful move alright," Paul said to Cynthia, "But it's also one of Garchomp's weak points. I didn't challenge you without thinking of a plan first. Use Frenzy Plant!" A green glow surrounded Torterra as it stomped on the ground. Six huge roots exploded out of the ground and their tips all pointed at Garchomp and descended with ferocious power.

However all six roots were going towards Garchomp from the same direction.

Harry caught a glimpse of a smirk on the Mach Pokemon's face before she raised her fins. The Frenzy Plant slammed into her with enough force to kick up a huge cloud of dust. It took about a minute for the dust to clear but when it did, Paul gasped in shock.

Garchomp was still on her knees but her powerful fins were raised over her head. She was sweating and grunting with exertion but all six of the Frenzy Plant's roots had failed to penetrate her defence. They pressed down hard on her fins and Garchomp raised her arms ever so slightly to glare at Torterra.

"Looks like you didn't plan for this," Cynthia said. There was no smugness in her voice. She was merely stating a fact, "And Frenzy Plant has the same drawback as Giga Impact. Garchomp use Draco Meteor!" Garchomp pried the roots apart and launched an orange orb from her mouth into the air. Meteors erupted out of the orb and rained down on Torterra creating a huge explosion. When the smoke cleared, Torterra was unconscious.

"Wow!" gasped Ash.

"Amazing," whispered Brock.

"I guess it was a mistake to send all those roots at Garchomp from the same direction," Harry noted.

"Right," Dawn nodded.

"I knew Garchomp was strong," Paul was unable to keep the wonder out of his voice, "But I never expected it to block Torterra's Frenzy Plant." His expression hardened. "If nothing else, I'm going to at least take down that Garchomp. Hariyama, stand by for battle!" A very bulky Pokemon with massive, three fingered hands appeared. Dawn scanned it.

" _Hariyama, the Arm Thrust Pokemon and evolved form of Makuhita. Hariyama is so strong it can send truck flying_. _When it tightens its muscles, its body becomes as hard as stone._ "

"Fake Out!" Paul ordered. Hariyama slammed its massive hands together and a shock wave hit Garchomp. She flinched and Paul took advantage of the opening, "Focus Punch!" Hariyama clenched its fist and focused hard, causing its fist to glow white. However Focus Punch needed a moment to charge which was enough time for Garchomp to recover from Fake Out.

"Quick, use Dragon Rush!" ordered Cynthia and Garchomp regained her composure as Hariyama lunged towards her. The Mach Pokémon hastily surrounded herself with blue energy and lunged towards Hariyama. The Fighting type smashed its fist into Garchomp's Dragon Rush and there was a huge explosion, which sent both Pokémon flying.

When the smoke cleared, Garchomp and Hariyama were still standing, but only for a moment. Both Pokémon fainted at the same time. Cynthia looked at her unconscious Garchomp in mild surprised, but quickly recovered and smiled.

"Well done," she said, "It's been a while since anyone has knocked out my Garchomp and I'm impressed by how quickly you adapted to the situation after Torterra was knocked out." She recalled the Mach Pokemon, "Great battle, Garchomp. Get some rest. Roserade, battle dance!" Harry instantly recognized this species, remembering Gardenia's Roserade. Evidently Ash and Dawn recognized the species too as neither of them activated their pokedex. Paul recalled Hariyama, looked at its Poke Ball for a moment, then decided that knocking out the Champion's most powerful Pokémon deserved a compliment.

"Good job," he grunted to the Poke Ball, then put it away as if uncomfortable about being heard complimenting his Pokémon, "Chimchar, stand by for battle!" A Chimchar appeared. It looked almost exactly the same as Harry's Chimchar but was male, "Fire Spin!" Chimchar fired a spiral of flames which surrounded Roserade who yelled in pain.

"Rain Dance," Cynthia said and like Gardenia's Roserade, the Bouquet Pokemon summoned a rain storm. The Rain Dance completely extinguished the Fire Spin. Paul scowled.

"Dig!" he called. Chimchar dived into the ground. Harry had a strong suspicion that Paul was the boy Roark had referred to when he mentioned battling a Dig using Chimchar that wasn't Harry's, "Flame Wheel from underground!"

"Char!" Chimchar burst out of the ground underneath Roserade within a wheel of fire sending it flying.

"Weather Ball!" called Cynthia. Roserade back flipped gracefully, forming the attack in mid-air and hurling it at Chimchar. The poor Fire type didn't stand a chance. Paul scowled as he recalled it.

"You should be ashamed," he snarled at the Poke Ball. Harry now understood why Ash disliked this guy so much. Paul's scowl faded into a neutral expression as he looked at Cynthia who was kneeling beside her Roserade.

"Well done, Roserade," she said and Roserade smiled before Cynthia recalled it and straightened up. Paul bowed his head to her.

"Good battle," he grunted, "I'll train harder and challenge you again another time." Cynthia smiled her gentle smile again.

"I look forward to it," she said. Paul turned and walked past Harry, Ash, Brock and Dawn.

"Paul, the Pokemon Center's the other way," Ash reminded him. Paul ignored him, not even sparing him a glance.

"Paul hold it right there!" Cynthia commanded and for the first time she seemed annoyed. Paul stopped but didn't turn around, "Your Pokemon fought hard for you and they deserve time to recuperate. Getting them healed is a trainer's responsibility." For a moment it seemed that Paul wasn't going to reply. Then he relented.

"Right," he said.

* * *

"I'm sorry," said Nurse Joy as her Chansey rushed and injured Furret to the operating room, "Furret's in a critical condition and I need to save it."

"That's okay," Cynthia said kindly, "Go and do your job. I'll treat Paul's Pokemon."

"I'll help!" Brock said. Harry remembered how he had acted around Officer Jenny when they first met. He glanced at Dawn and Ash.

"He's always like this," Dawn said looking slightly embarrassed by Brock's attempts to charm Cynthia. To her credit, the Champion simply stood there with a patient smile while Brock made a fool of himself. Croagunk busted his way out of his Poke Ball and pulled back his hand for a Poison Jab. Cynthia noticed Croagunk over Brock's shoulder and raised an eyebrow at it. Croagunk hesitated then lowered his hand.

"Croagunk never misses an opportunity to use Poison Jab on Brock," Ash said in surprise.

"I'd appreciate your help," Cynthia finally said to Brock who went quiet, blushing bright red hardly able to believe she was actually talking to him. To be fair Harry had a feeling that, even though he wasn't a hopeless romantic like Brock, he would have the same reaction.

"I can't believe that guy was once a Gym Leader," Paul said in contempt once Brock and Cynthia had started treating his Pokemon.

"Wait a minute," Ash said, "Brock's from Kanto. How do you know he was a Gym Leader?" Paul glared at him.

"How do you think?" he grunted.

"So you've travelled in Kanto," Dawn said.

"And Johto and Hoenn," Paul confirmed, "Torterra was my Starter Pokemon so it travelled with me a lot. Brock was the first Gym Leader I battled." Ash got a strange look on his face as he remembered his first not-so-friendly encounter with Brock.

* * *

 _"Onix Rock Throw!" yelled Brock and Onix hurled rocks at Ash's Butterfree knocking it out with one attack._

 _"Butterfree return," said ten year old Ash, "Pidgeotto I choose you."_

 _"Another Flying type?" Brock asked, "You really need to work on your type matchups. At least you're not stupid enough to use Pikachu against a Ground type."_

 _"Pidgeotto Wing Attack!" cried Ash and Pidgeotto flew towards Onix and her wings glowed white before she slapped him as hard as she could. Onix barely felt it._

 _"Rock Throw!" called Brock and Onix used his tail to hurl rocks at Pidgeotto again._

 _"Agility!" Ash shouted and Pidgeotto darted around the battlefield to dodge the rocks, "Now Wing Attack!" Pidgeotto slapped Onix with her glowing wing once again._

 _"Bind!" called Brock and Onix grabbed Pidgeotto with his huge tail and started to squeeze._

 _"Pidgeotto!" yelled Ash. Pidgeotto struggled desperately but the rock hard tail wouldn't budge._

 _"Screech!" called Brock and Onix let out a deafening shriek to lower Pidgeotto's Defense by two levels. He then continued squeezing her._

 _"Cut it out!" yelled Ash. Onix looked at him and paused._

 _"Do you surrender?" asked Brock from the other side of the battlefield._

 _"I do," Ash said in defeat._

* * *

"Me too," Ash mumbled.

"What do you know?" said Dawn, "You two do have something in common after all." Ash and Paul looked at her, then at each other and huffed.

"If your Starter Pokemon was Turtwig, why was Kanto the first region you travelled in?" asked Harry.

"None of your business," Paul said rudely and turned back to watch Cynthia and Brock. Despite his respect for Cynthia, something he wasn't showing to anyone else in the group, it was clear that Paul wanted to leave.

"I've only just met you," Harry said, "But I can tell you're a complete jerk." Paul looked at him expressionlessly.

"Look kid," he said and for the first time it struck Harry that Paul had to be at least four or five years older than he was, "Pokemon are made for battle. Why do you think they have their powers? You don't win battles by being kind."

"Pokemon don't use their powers just for battling," Dawn said, "They use them in contests too."

"Yeah and contests have battle rounds too," Paul countered.

Harry hated to admit it but Paul's way of thinking wasn't entirely wrong. Not all Pokemon moves were aggressive but virtually all of them, Splash being the only exception he could think of off the top of his head, were used to attack, hinder or defend against opponents in battle. Harry glanced at Riolu, remembering when he had been stabbed by Jupiter's Skuntank's Poison Jab. And there was also the time when Shinx had nearly been ripped apart by J's Drapion's Crunch. Both Pokemon were fully healed now but those were two examples of how brutal Pokemon could be.

"Your Pokemon fight hard for you, Paul!" Ash said, "The least you could do is tell them they did a good job."

"Chimchar was useless against Roserade," Paul said, glaring at the Chimp who was being fed a pill by Cynthia.

"That's not true," Harry said coldly, "Fire Spin and Flame Wheel definitely hurt Roserade and under the effects of Rain Dance, Weather Ball's a Water type move. Why's it surprising that Chimchar was knocked out by a single Water type move?"

"I wasn't surprised," Paul grunted, "I was disappointed. Chimchar's taken Water type moves before."

"Paul," Cynthia interrupted them. Harry had a feeling she'd been listening to the entire conversation, "Your Pokemon just need to have a rest and then they'll be good to go."

"Thanks," Paul said.

"You're a great Champion, Cynthia," Dawn said, "You know everything." Cynthia smiled modestly.

"I wish," she said, "By the way, I didn't get your names."

"Well I'm Brock," Brock jumped in front of her eagerly.

"I was talking to your friends, Brock," Cynthia said, not rudely but firmly. Brock sheepishly stepped aside.

"I'm Ash and this is my buddy, Pikachu," Ash introduced.

"Pika," Pikachu waved at Cynthia.

"My name's Dawn," Dawn announced.

Cynthia looked at Harry. Despite her status as a Champion Harry found that he wasn't as nervous as he thought he would be. He had butterflies in his stomach, but at least he didn't feel like he was going to throw up. Cynthia had a warm, gentle and inviting aura that seemed to radiate from her. Harry wondered if it was even possible for anyone not to like her.

"I'm Harry," he said, "This is my partner, Riolu." Riolu hopped up onto the table beside him and smiled at Cynthia.

"Pleased to meet you all," Cynthia said and patted Riolu's head gently.

"Um, Cynthia," Harry said nervously, "Just before I started my journey, I was watching you battle Bertha on television. Could Riolu and I see your Lucario, please?" Cynthia smiled.

"Of course," she said and released Riolu's evolved form. Riolu looked nervous but Lucario just smiled at him. Harry looked at his pokedex.

" _Lucario the Aura Pokémon and evolved form of Riolu. It is a highly intelligent Pokémon capable of reading thoughts and feelings with Aura._ "

"It's getting a bit hot in here," Brock said, "Maybe we should go outside." Dawn and Ash sweat dropped but everyone agreed, even Paul.

* * *

It turned out Cynthia's Lucario was surprisingly playful. Despite his initial nervousness, Riolu was soon chasing Lucario around the garden. Paul was watching with a rather contemptuous expression. Ash, Dawn and Brock were spending time with their Pokemon. Harry stood with Cynthia.

"I always thought a Lucario would be more… dignified," Harry said.

"Each Pokemon has different personalities, just like people," Cynthia told him, "My Lucario likes to battle but she also likes children. Your Riolu's a child." Harry blinked in astonishment.

"Really?" he said. Riolu was so mature that it seemed impossible he could be that young.

"Well an adolescent," Cynthia corrected herself, "But he's only in his early adolescence which is great because a Riolu and Lucario's lifespan is roughly the same length as a humans. There's a good chance you and he could be together for the rest of your lives."

"Sometimes I'm not sure if Riolu likes me," Harry confessed.

"Why not?" asked Cynthia.

"I've gotten him hurt a few times," Harry muttered, "And not just… you know, the injuries of regular battles. He was hurt badly by a Skuntank only a week ago. It took him most of the journey here to recover."

"How did he get hurt?" asked Cynthia.

"I tried to take on Team Galactic," Harry admitted. Cynthia suddenly looked very serious.

"You should not get involved with that group," she warned him, "They're dangerous."

"I know," Harry said. He then watched Lucario form an Aura Sphere. Riolu looked at the sphere in fascination. Lucario smiled at him.

"Lucar, cario," she said. Riolu looked doubtful for a moment. Then he became surrounded in a waving aura of light and one of his eyes twinkled, as he recalled how Lucario had formed Aura Sphere. A tiny Aura Sphere formed in Riolu's hands but disappeared almost instantly.

"I think your Riolu is trying to learn to use Copycat," Cynthia said, "Believe it or not, he doesn't actually need it in order to learn Aura Sphere."

"I thought Riolu could only use Aura Sphere as a Lucario," Harry said.

"It won't be easy for your Riolu to master Aura Sphere without evolving," Cynthia admitted, "But if he can master Copycat first, that's half the battle. Eventually he won't need Copycat to form Aura Sphere."

"Then I guess Riolu and I need to work on Copycat before moving on to Aura Sphere," Harry decided. He watched Lucario form another Aura Sphere. Riolu once again used Copycat to mimic her but his Aura Sphere disappeared a moment later. Lucario dispersed her own Aura Sphere

"Rah, Lucar," she said encouragingly.

"Lucario says Riolu should keep practicing," Cynthia translated.

* * *

"Riolu's got the basics of Copycat," Cynthia told Harry that evening as the group were preparing to separate. Paul had disappeared a couple of hours earlier. "But I suggest you have him practice it against other Pokemon."

"What about Aura Sphere?" Harry asked.

"One step at a time," Cynthia replied.

"Right. Thanks Cynthia," Harry responded.

"You're welcome. It was great to meet you all," Cynthia said.

"You too, my love!" cried Brock. Cynthia rolled her eyes good naturedly at him.

"Hopefully, I'll see you all again soon," she said, "Goodbye." She waved and started to walk away. Once she was out of sight, Harry turned to the group.

"Well I'm leaving too," he said, "Bye."

"Bye Harry," said Dawn.

"Hey, next time we meet we should have a battle," Ash said eagerly. Harry nodded.

"Okay," he said then he and Riolu both waved at the trio as Harry got onto his bike and rode away with Riolu running alongside him.

 **Ash's flashback was added to this chapter very shortly before I posted it to show his journey before Sinnoh wasn't the same as in the anime.**


	12. Headed for Hearthome City

Riolu was having the time of his life when they reached the edge of Mount Coronet – the place was once his home after all – but Harry felt a little intimidated by the size of the place. Shrugging off his discomfort, he began his journey through the dark cave which would lead him to Hearthome City. The cave got very dark as they went further, so Harry released Chimchar who used her flaming backside as a torch.

To Harry's surprise, he heard a voice further on in the cave. Hoping that the person knew the way out, he followed the voice and found a tall man with spikey bluish grey hair standing on a cavern. Despite his hair colour, the man was certainly no older than thirty, if that. He was muttering to himself. Harry raised an eyebrow, wondering who this strange man was.

"According to legend, Mt. Coronet is where the Sinnoh region began," the man spoke absentmindedly to himself, unaware of another presence in the cave, "In a newly created world; a world where only time flowed and space expanded, there should have been no strife. But what became of the world? Because the human spirit is weak and incomplete, strife has spread. This world is being ruined by it. I find this state of affairs deplorable." He noticed he was being watched. He showed no emotion when he saw Harry.

"Um, hello," Harry said uncertainly, a little freaked out by the man's soliloquy, "I'm trying to find my way to Hearthome City. Could you show me the way out of the cave?" The man just looked at him.

"Find it yourself," he said coldly and strode past the boy. Riolu and Chimchar looked up at him uncertainly. Riolu seemed especially freaked out.

"Ri, Riolu," he said to his trainer.

"Yeah, that guy was creepy," Harry mumbled. Riolu shook his head and put a hand on his chest before patting it insistently. Harry raised an eyebrow at his Starter Pokemon's strange behavior. "I have no idea what you're trying to say," he confessed. Riolu rolled his eyes.

"Rio, Ri, Riolu, lu," he said still patting his chest.

"You're feeling something?" Harry guessed. It couldn't be any side effects from Skuntank's Poison Jab. Riolu had completely recovered from that well over a week ago so there had to be something else bothering him. Riolu pointed at the tunnel where the strange man had disappeared, then gestured to his own chest again. By now, Chimchar was looking a little disturbed too but Harry still didn't understand what Riolu was trying to tell him.

Exasperated, Riolu put on a completely blank expression. It took Harry a moment to realize he was mimicking the emotionless look of the stranger.

"You don't feel anything?" Harry said and finally it hit him. A Riolu could sense emotions but apparently Riolu hadn't felt anything from the man. No wonder the Emanation Pokemon was agitated, "You didn't feel anything coming from _him_?" Harry said and Riolu nodded, "You couldn't sensed any emotions at all?" Riolu nodded in confirmation.

Harry frowned thoughtfully. If Riolu couldn't sense any emotions from the man that meant that he must have buried them _very_ deep down, or else had some kind of mental disorder that disconnected his feelings from his thoughts. Harry realized that the man was probably a psychopath, a sociopath or both. Come to think of it, he hadn't even used any emotion during his soliloquy.

Harry was suddenly very glad that the man hadn't agreed to show him the way out of the cave.

* * *

Harry was exhausted when he finally found his way out of the cave. The sun was setting but although the sky was darkening, Harry caught a glimpse of Hearthome City in the distance. It would still take him a whole day to get there as he didn't feel safe using his bike on this dangerous terrain, but at least he was out of that damn cave.

Harry took out his sleeping bag and set up camp in the most comfortable area he could find. It was still rather uncomfortable for him, although Riolu and Chimchar seemed perfectly at home here. Harry released his other Pokemon for some fresh air. Shinx looked around the rocky area with distaste but Buizel, Drifloon and Combee didn't seem to mind. However it was a bit windy up here so Drifloon used Constrict on her trainer so she wouldn't get blown away. Chimchar helped Harry light a fire, which Harry made sure was positioned where he could still see Hearthome City.

Eventually the sun had set completely so Harry got into his sleeping bag, recalled his Pokemon, and went to sleep.

Harry reached the bottom of the mountain but about lunch time and for the first time realized that he was rapidly running out of food and drink. Furthermore, he was on his last two cans of Pokemon food, Chimchar had no bananas and Combee had no honey. Harry realized he needed to get more supplies once he got to Hearthome City.

As he was walking through a copse that was too small to be a forest, he was surprised by Combee bursting out of her Poke Ball. She'd never done that before.

"Combee?" Harry said, "What's wrong?"

"Combee!" Combee shot away from him, heading towards a tree. Harry followed her curiously. Someone had slathered the tree trunk with honey. Combee must have a remarkable sense of smell to be able to smell it from inside her Poke Ball.

"Oh you're hungry," Harry said as Combee started licking the honey.

"Hey!" yelled a voice, "I'm trying to lure wild Pokemon here!" Harry turned and found a yellow haired boy behind him, looking annoyed.

"Sorry," Harry said, "But Combee can't get enough honey." Combee just kept eating, oblivious to what was happening behind her.

"I'm trying to find a Heracross!" grumbled the boy, "Do you know how tough it is to find one of them?"

"Not as tough as finding a female Combee, a Chimchar or a Riolu," Harry said, "Although to be fair my grandfather was the one who found Riolu."

"Get your Combee off my tree!" the boy demanded but had a sudden change in mood as he looked behind Harry, "Oh wait! Never mind." Harry turned around and saw a Heracross had joined Combee in licking the honey. The Tiny Bee Pokemon wasn't too happy about sharing her meal however and used a light Gust to blow Heracross back as a clear warning. At first, Harry didn't notice because he was scanning Heracross with his pokedex.

" _Heracross, the Single Horn Pokemon. Despite its size, Heracross has great physical strength and can throw any Pokemon that weighs less than a Hariyama with its huge horn._ "

"Com, Combee!" Combee shouted as she and Heracross glared at each other.

"Combee you can share with Heracross," Harry told her but Combee continued glaring at Heracross. Heracross scowled then lunged at her with its huge horn. Combee's eyes widened in fear and she dodged it only to be knocked away by a sweep of Heracross' arm. Heracross smirked smugly and started licking the honey. Combee looked angry and buzzed at Heracross, "Calm down, Combee. Blimey, I didn't know you were so possessive over honey."

"Go Prinplup!" called the other boy and a penguin like Pokemon appeared. Heracross apparently realized the boy was after it, because it turned and smirked at Prinplup. With Heracross' attention directed away from the tree for now, Combee decided to help herself once more.

" _Prinplup the Penguin Pokemon and evolved form of Piplup. It has a great deal of pride and appears to see itself as superior to those around it. Because of this it can never form a group with other Prinplup._ "

Harry remembered what Cynthia had said about Pokemon having different personalities, even amongst those of the same species. It wasn't really fair to say that all Prinplup were prideful and snobby. He was brought out of his thoughts as the boy ordered Prinplup to attack Heracross.

"Use Drill Peck!" he called and Prinplup's beak glowed white and grew longer before it spun towards Heracross. Heracross stood its ground, then suddenly ducked beneath Drill Peck and thrust Prinplup into the sky with Horn Attack, "Bubblebeam!" Prinplup turned in mid-air and fired multiple bubbles from its beak at Heracross. Heracross winced and stumbled back slightly, "Now use Metal Claw!"

"Plup!" cried Prinplup and the tips of his wings turned to metal before he slashed Heracross with one of them, sending it sprawling. The boy then threw a Poke Ball. It shook once, then twice then…

Burst open again. Heracross had an annoyed expression on its face as it glared at Prinplup. Its wing case opened and it flew above Prinplup before bringing its hand down for a Brick Break.

"Quick, use Metal Claw!" yelled the boy and Prinplup hastily crossed its wings and used Metal Claw to block the Brick Break, "Fury Attack!" Prinplup pushed back Heracross and jabbed him several times with its beak, "Now Metal Claw one more time!" One final Metal Claw sent Heracross sprawling on its back. Heracross now had its face turned towards the tree. Combee had finished the honey and was looking at it rather smugly. Then Heracross was sucked into a Poke Ball which shook three times then went still.

"Congratulations," Harry said.

"Thanks," said the boy as he picked up the Poke Ball, "I'm Barry by the way."

"I'm Harry," Harry replied.

"Barry and Harry!" chuckled the boy. Harry smirked, "Hey, wanna battle?"

"How many Pokemon do you have?" Harry asked.

"Including Prinplup and Heracross, I've got five," Barry revealed.

"Well since Prinplup and Heracross both took damage, I think we should have a three on three battle," Harry said.

"Prinplup's fine, aren't you Prinplup?" Barry said. Prinplup puffed out its chest and hit it with one wing.

"Lup," it said.

"Okay," Harry shrugged, "Four on four then."

"Got it," said Barry then looked at Prinplup, "I'll use you later, Prinplup." Prinplup nodded and Barry recalled it before taking out another Poke Ball. "Go Staravia!" A bird like Pokemon appeared.

" _Staravia, the Starling Pokemon and evolved form of Starly._ _It lives in forests and fields. Squabbles over territory occur when flocks collide_."

"Riolu," Riolu offered. Harry blinked in surprise. Then it occurred to him that Riolu had only fought wild Pokemon and had sparring matches with the other members of Harry's team since he lost to Jupiter's Skuntank. However there was the type disadvantage to consider and Riolu had previously lost to Staravia's pre-evolved form. Seeing his trainer's hesitation, Riolu took the initiative to step out in front of him.

"Alright Riolu," Harry said and smiled, "Let's show that Staravia what you're made of."

"Use Wing Attack!" Barry ordered and Staravia dived towards Riolu with its glowing wings outstretched.

"Jump on its back and use Force Palm!" Harry ordered and Riolu jumped and twisted in mid-air before landing on Staravia's back. He slammed his palm down on Staravia's back and the yellow energy that erupted from his palm sent the Starling Pokemon crashing to the ground.

"Staravia, use Quick Attack!" Barry ordered.

"You use Quick Attack too!" Harry countered. Both Pokemon shot towards each other and collided head on. At the speed they were going, that collision must have resulted in a nasty headache for both of them but they both recovered, "Now use Brick Break!"

"Double Team!" Barry called, taking Harry right back to his first trainer battle with Hayley. Staravia split into a dozen copies which surrounded Riolu. Harry had fallen for that trick against Hayley, but back then he hadn't known Riolu or his capabilities nearly as well as he did now.

"Find its Aura," Harry called and Riolu nodded before closing his eyes.

"Staravia, Wing Attack!" cried Barry and Staravia lunged. It was faster than Hayley's Starly had been and no doubt its Wing Attack would hurt much more, but Riolu didn't move until the last second. A subtle shift in his stance was all it took to cause the real Staravia to pass over him harmlessly while the copies all passed through him like ghosts, "What?"

"That would have worked if we battled when I first became a trainer," Harry confessed, "But since then, Riolu has learned how to see through Double Team by using Aura. Use Hidden Power!"

"Riolu!" cried Riolu and launched the attack at Staravia, knocking it out of the sky.

"Quick Attack!" Harry commanded and before Staravia could recover, Riolu had slammed into it and knocked it against the tree where Barry had smeared his honey. Barry grimaced then recalled his Pokemon.

"Sorry about that, Staravia," he mumbled, "I guess my knowledge of Riolu is sketchy."

"Way to go, Riolu," Harry said, "How do you feel about your first victory over a Flying type?"

"Riolu!" Riolu said happily and flexed his muscles.

"Let's see your Riolu deal with this Pokemon!" said Barry, "Go Ponyta!" A horse like Pokemon with a fiery tail and mane appeared.

" _Ponyta, the Fire Horse Pokemon. A baby can barely stand but an adult can jump to incredible heights._ "

"Use Bounce!" ordered Barry and Harry saw first-hand that the pokedex wasn't exaggerating when it said Ponyta was an incredible jumper.

"Dodge it!" he shouted and Riolu back flipped away to avoid being trampled by Ponyta's hooves, "Hidden Power!" Riolu formed and fired the orbs which knocked Ponyta off its feet, "Now use Quick Attack!" This Ponyta clearly was not a new born but after the blow from Hidden Power, it wasn't fast enough to avoid Quick Attack. Barry decided to change that.

"Ponyta, Agility!" he called and Ponyta galloped around, moving in a seemingly random pattern.

"Use Aura to predict its movements!" Harry called. Riolu tried but it was harder than seeing through a Double Team and Riolu's Aura abilities wouldn't reach their full potential until he evolved. Seeing through illusions was fairly easy for Riolu because after initially dodging an attack with Double Team, the real Pokemon tended to stay in one place until its trainer ordered it to use another move. Locking onto a rapidly moving target was much harder, "Try Quick Attack." Riolu darted towards Ponyta but the Fire Horse Pokemon changed direction. Riolu only just missed it but missed it nonetheless.

"Fire Spin go!" yelled Barry and Ponyta shot a spiral of flames which surrounded Riolu. He screamed in pain, "Take Down!" Ponyta charged forwards and smashed into Riolu, who was still inside the Fire Spin. The Fire Spin died down to reveal the unconscious Riolu.

"Excellent job, Riolu," Harry said as he recalled him, "Taking out Staravia was great."

"Do you know what the best part is?" asked Barry cockily, "Since Ponyta had to charge straight into Fire Spin to hit Riolu with Take Down, it's activated its Flash Fire Ability." Harry looked at the Fire Horse Pokemon and realized its flames seemed to be burning hotter than before. However it was also looking a bit worn down.

"Go Buizel!" Harry sent out Buizel who faced Ponyta and smirked confidently, unintimidated by the increased size of Ponyta's flames, "Water Gun!"

"Fire Spin!" Barry countered. Water Gun and Fire Spin met in mid-air but thanks to the Flash Fire boost, Fire Spin overpowered the Water type move and spun around Buizel, "Use Take Down!" Ponyta charged forwards and smashed into Buizel knocking him off his feet. It then grimaced as the recoil effect kicked in.

"Buizel, Aqua Jet!" Harry called. Buizel surrounded himself with water, but to both his and Harry's frustration the powered up Fire Spin evaporated the Water around his body.

"Take Down again!" Barry ordered and Ponyta smashed into Buizel again sending him sprawling. Buizel picked himself up, burning not just from the Fire Spin he was still trapped in but also from anger. Normally he was a very easy-going Pokemon, but having his Water type moves overpowered by a Fire type move was infuriating. However both Buizel and Harry noticed Ponyta grimace once more from recoil damage.

"Your Ponyta's tough," Harry told Barry, "But it's wearing itself out with those Take Downs. Sonicboom!" Buizel spun and a shock wave shot out from the Fire Spin and struck Ponyta in the chest. It collapsed to the ground. Buizel had a relieved expression when the Fire Spin died down, showing Ponyta had been defeated.

"Great work Ponyta, take a break," Barry said as he recalled the Fire type, "Go Roselia!" It struck Harry that this was actually the first time he had ever encountered a Roselia, despite having seen its evolved form, twice.

" _Roselia the Thorn Pokemon and evolved form of Budew. Its flowers give off a relaxing fragrance. The stronger its aroma, the healthier the Roselia is_."

"That Roselia seems pretty healthy," Harry commented, noting Roselia's sweet aroma even though it wasn't using Sweet Scent.

"It was the first Pokemon I caught," Barry said, "Prinplup was still a Piplup at the time and I've raised Roselia since it was a Budew."

"In that case return, Buizel," Buizel disappeared in a beam of red light, "Go Chimchar!"

"Just so you know, Roselia's beaten Fire types before," Barry warned him.

"Well Chimchar's fought a Rampardos to a draw before," Harry replied, "Use Fire Spin!"

"Water Sport!" called Barry. Roselia sprayed itself with water from its flowers as the Fire Spin twisted around her. The cool water from Water Sport kept the damage to a minimum, and unlike Ponyta's Fire Spin, Chimchar's attack hadn't been boosted by her Special Ability, "Now use Shadow Ball!" Roserade formed a ball of black energy which shot out from the Fire Spin and slammed into Chimchar, blasting her backwards.

"Chimchar, use Dig," Harry called and Chimchar dug into the ground.

"Use Ingrain, Roselia," ordered Barry and Roselia sprouted small roots from its body which went into the ground. Chimchar burst out of the ground and pushed Roselia back a bit but the roots held it in place, "Poison Jab!" Roselia pulled back one flower, its blue one, which then turned purple, before thrusting it through the Fire Spin around it and into Chimchar's chest. Chimchar skidded back along the ground.

"Char," she muttered and picked herself up before wincing as poison shot through her body. Instinctively she used the poison to her advantage and glowed gold. Harry raised an eyebrow in surprise as Chimchar charged into the Fire Spin and slammed into Roselia with enough force to send it skidding backwards, snapping a few of its roots in the process.

"What was that?" Barry asked. Harry shrugged and looked at his Pokedex.

" _Façade. When under the effects of a status condition such as Poison, Paralysis or Burn, this attack becomes more powerful._ "

"Alright!" Harry grinned but his grin faded when Chimchar grimaced from the Poison. Façade may get stronger in her condition but it didn't heal her.

Then Chimchar's backside flared up again. Harry's smile returned even as the Fire Spin around Roselia died down.

"Even with Water Sport, your Roselia doesn't stand a chance against Chimchar now," Harry told Barry, "Use Flame Wheel!" Ingrain healed Roselia slowly but it also limited its mobility so there was nothing it could do as Chimchar somersaulted in a wheel of fire towards it. The roots disappeared when Roselia hit the ground. Barry recalled it.

"Not bad," he admitted, "But you can't beat Prinplup. Go!" He released the Penguin Pokemon. Chimchar looked exhausted. Recalling her would give her a reprieve but it wouldn't heal the Poison.

"Façade!" Harry ordered and Chimchar lunged, glowing gold as she moved.

"Dodge it!" Barry called and Prinplup simply stepped aside, "Metal Claw!" Prinplup smashed its wing into Chimchar while after turning its tip into metal. Chimchar hit the ground, tried to stand then succumbed to the Poison. Harry recalled her.

"You fought well, Chimchar and congratulations on learning Façade," Harry said, "Go Shinx!" The Flash Pokemon faced Prinplup. Despite the type disadvantage, the Penguin Pokemon seemed confident, "Shink use Spark and get this done!" Shinx charged towards Prinplup, surrounded by electricity.

"Use Mist!" ordered Barry and Prinplup opened its mouth and released a thick white cloud. Shinx charged into the cloud and completely missed Prinplup. "Now Prinplup use Drill Peck!" A squeal of pain from within the Mist confirmed Drill Peck had landed. The Mist started to clear but Barry ordered his next move before Shinx could locate Prinplup, "Use Bubblebeam!"

"Prinplup, lup, lup!" Prinplup cried and launched a beam of bubbles which slammed into Shinx. The Flash Pokemon looked very annoyed by how easily the Water type was overpowering it.

"Shinx use Double Team!" ordered Harry and Shinx split into a dozen copies which surrounded Prinplup. Suddenly the Water type didn't look quite so confident, "Spark!" Harry ordered. All of Shinx's copies in addition to the real one became surrounded by electricity. Prinplup looked around frantically as they charged. The fake Shinx all passed through him, just as Staravia's Double Team had done when battling Riolu, but unlike Riolu, Prinplup failed to dodge the real Shinx.

"Prinpluuup!" screamed the Penguin Pokemon as the Rivalry boosted Spark knocked him down. Shinx smirked as Prinplup hit the ground hard.

"Prinplup!" Barry yelped.

"As I expected," Harry said, "Your Prinplup's male so Shinx's Spark was even more powerful thanks to Rivalry. Shinx, Bite!" Shinx jumped on Prinplup and snapped his jaws shut on the unfortunate Water types arm.

"Knock it off with Metal Claw!" Barry shouted and Prinplup used its free arm to knock Shinx away with Metal Claw. It winced and looked at its injured arm. "Come on Prinplup! Show that Shinx what you're made of!" To both Harry and Shinx's surprise, Prinplup pushed himself onto his feet. Then a blue glow surrounded him and he glared at Shinx.

"Uh oh," Harry mumbled. He thought of Chimchar's Blaze. The only difference between that Ability and this one, Torrent, was that Blaze powered up Fire type moves while Torrent powered up Water type ones.

"Bubblebeam!" ordered Barry and Prinplup fired the attack at Shinx.

"Quick, Double Team!" Harry ordered and once again Shinx split into a dozen copies.

"Not this time!" Barry yelled, "Blast them all with Bubblebeam, Prinplup!" Prinplup spun rapidly on the spot, shooting Bubblebeam in all directions (forcing Harry and Barry to dodge the attack themselves) and obliterating all of Shinx's copies before finding the real one. The Torrent boosted Bubblebeam blasted Shinx into a tree and he collapsed, unable to battle. Harry recalled him.

"Thanks Shinx," he said, "Buizel, you're up again!" The Sea Weasel Pokemon emerged once more, "Use Sonicboom!" Buizel spun and launched several shock waves from his tails.

"Metal Claw!" ordered Barry and Prinplup destroyed every Sonicboom with its wings, "Now use Bubblebeam!" Prinplup launched another Bubblebeam which slammed into Buizel, doing more damage than usual thanks to Torrent.

"Brick Break go," Harry called.

"Use Metal Claw!" Barry countered. Both Pokemon charged and slammed their attacks into each other as they passed in the middle of the battlefield. There was a short pause.

Then both Pokemon fainted.

"Well that's that," Harry said and recalled Buizel, "Nice job, Buizel. Have a break."

"Great work, Prinplup," said Barry as he recalled the Penguin Pokemon, "That was awesome, Harry. I hope we battle again soon."

"Me too," Harry said, "Are you going to Hearthome City?"

"I will be in a week," Barry said, "The Hearthome City Tag Battle Tournament's coming up and I'm gonna to participate in it. Until then I'll do some training with my Heracross."

"A Tag Battle Tournament?" Harry said curiously, "Maybe I should check that out too. So I guess I'll see you in Hearthome City?"

"You can count on it," Barry said and they shook hands. Harry waved to his new friend as he unfolded his bike and continued towards Hearthome City.


	13. Week of Waiting

Annoyingly the Hearthome City Gym Leader was on a journey somewhere. With the Tag Battle Tournament still a week away, Harry occupied himself by stocking up on supplies and training his Pokemon.

Riolu mastered Copycat during the training and started trying to use Aura Sphere. Even when he had been able to use Copycat to copy it from Cynthia's Lucario, he hadn't been able to sustain even a tiny Aura Sphere for more than a few seconds. Without any Aura Sphere using Pokemon to use Copycat on, it seemed almost impossible for him to use it. However Riolu persistently kept trying and for that, Harry was proud of him.

The other members of the team had become stronger too. Chimchar mastered Acrobatics with help from Drifloon. Shinx had also learned his first Special Attack, Shock Wave.

On the second day after Harry's arrival in Hearthome City, Shinx evolved.

There was no particular reason for it. He wasn't even in battle at the time and no great strain put on him to trigger his evolution. He simply felt like he'd spent long enough in his base form and that it was time for him to change. Shinx decided he wanted a new, more powerful form, since Harry wanted his Pokemon to be as strong as they could be.

Harry was telling Combee to dodge Drifloon and Chimchar's Acrobatics. Chimchar and Drifloon had been gentle at first but as Combee got more skilled at dodging they had increased Acrobatic's power and speed until the Tiny Bee Pokemon struggled to keep up with them.

"Alright guys, that's enough," Harry called, noticing that Combee was getting tired, "Well done, Combee; your Speed is making up for your small moveset." Combee nodded happily, "And Chimchar, well done on mastering Acrobatics." Chimchar smiled. Drifloon gave Harry a Constrict hug, "I haven't forgotten you helped Chimchar, Drifloon. You know I'm grateful for that." Drifloon rubbed her head against him affectionately.

"Shinx!" Shinx called to his trainer. The Flash Pokemon had been unusually quiet for the last couple of days. Harry now realized that Shinx knew he was ready to evolve. Shinx smiled at his trainer. Harry wasn't used to seeing him smile but it seemed like Shinx was saying something like "see you on the other side". Then a white light surrounded the Flash Pokemon.

"Shinx you're…" Harry stared. This was the first time he had ever personally witnessed a Pokemon's evolution. He wondered how long Shinx had been considering changing his form; he'd been strong enough to since he learned Shock Wave, if not earlier. The glow faded and a Luxio stood in Shinx's place. He examined his new form and Harry beamed as he took out his pokedex.

" _Luxio, the Spark Pokemon, and the evolved form of Shinx. Luxio lives in small groups that collectively generate powerful electricity by gathering their tails together_."

"That's awesome Luxio," said Harry, "How long have you felt ready to evolve?" Luxio shrugged, "Well I'm glad you did." Harry patted his head fondly. His other Pokemon all seemed happy too.

* * *

Two days before the Tag Battle Tournament was due to begin, Ash, Brock and Dawn caught up with Harry. Harry had gone to the Hearthome City Gym to check if the Gym Leader had returned. He was disappointed but not surprised when he found out the Gym was still closed but outside he met an odd man with a harp that resembled the Legendary Pokémon Mew.

"Hello," Harry said, "Are you here for a Gym battle? If so you're wasting your time. The Gym Leader's not here."

"Oh I do wish to obtain the Relic Badge," said the man, "but since that is not currently possible, I will be performing in the Pokemon Contest."

"Well good luck," Harry said.

"Harry, Nando!" called a familiar voice. Harry turned around as a Staravia nearly flew straight into him. Behind the Staravia were Ash, Dawn and Brock. It was Dawn who had called out to him. She was carrying her Piplup.

"Hey there!" Harry said, "I was hoping you'd catch up to me."

"I was hoping we'd catch up too," Ash said, "We still haven't had a battle." He glanced at Nando, "Hey Nando, you challenged the Hearthome City Gym Leader yet?"

"Unfortunately she is not here," Nando replied. Ash looked crestfallen.

"I know how you feel," Harry said sympathetically, "I've been waiting here for a week. On the bright side though there is a Tag Battle Tournament coming up. And I'm sure you know about the upcoming contest, right Dawn?" he looked at the blue haired girl.

"Of course," Dawn said.

"Well at least coming here wasn't a complete waste of time," Ash said, "You entering the Tag Battle Tournament, Nando?"

"No, I will not be participating in the Tag Battle Competition," Nando replied, "But I hope to battle you in the contest, Dawn." He smiled at her, "Now if you will excuse me, I shall take my leave." He strode away.

"You must be entering the Tag Battle Competition too, Harry," Dawn said once Nando was gone.

"I wouldn't have waited here a week if I wasn't," Harry said, "Pastoria City's not far from here so I considered heading there, but then I'd have to miss the competition."

"Will you watch my contest?" Dawn asked hopefully. Harry hesitated.

"Okay," he said finally, "These last few days I haven't had much to do except training."

* * *

Harry was glad he had decided to watch the contest, though he had never been comfortable in crowds. He was glad they weren't all watching him. He still had no intention of entering contests himself, but he now understood what had drawn Dawn to them, apart from her mother, whom Dawn explained had been a top coordinator when she was younger.

Harry was especially impressed with Dawn's performance, during which she used Piplup and Pachirisu. Harry also noticed that Piplup, much like Ash's Pikachu and Harry's Riolu, appeared to prefer being outside its Poke Ball. Like Riolu and unlike Pikachu however, Piplup was not averse to going in a Poke Ball.

When Dawn failed to get past the appeal round, Harry was surprised by how sorry he felt for her. He had only met her twice before but seeing her so upset made him feel sad. Her friend Zoey advised that she needed some time to herself.

Harry couldn't understand what went wrong. Maybe he was biased since Dawn was his friend, but he thought her performance was better than any other except possibly Zoey's.

Harry decided to let Ash, Brock and Zoey comfort Dawn since they knew her better than he did. He decided to get in one more, brief round of training before the Tag Battle Tournament which was starting the next day.

"Okay guys," Harry said after releasing his Pokemon, "the Tag Battle Tournament starts tomorrow. Riolu use Hidden Power on me, because I'm going to ask Buizel to do something which is going to hurt." Riolu blasted his trainer with Hidden Power. Harry picked himself up and groaned slightly, "Okay, permission to use questionable training method?" Riolu considered for a moment, then nodded, "Buizel, I've noticed that whenever you fight an Electric type, you can't take a hit after using Aqua Jet. I know Water conducts electricity so it's going to _really_ hurt, but I need you to try and take a hit from Luxio's Shock Wave after using an Aqua Jet."

"Buizel," Buizel said looking at Luxio worriedly. He wasn't able to take a Water conducted Electric attack while Luxio was a Shinx. How on earth could he take one from its evolution? Not to mention they were both male so Rivalry would make it hurt even more.

"You know what," Harry said, "I feel bad for asking you to do this, so use Water Gun on me and then Luxio you have permission to shock me." Both Pokemon obeyed.

For the first time, Harry gained a real appreciation for how much pain Buizel went through if an Electric attack hit him after an Aqua Jet. Despite the cool water that now drenched him, the electricity from Luxray's Shock Wave felt like it was burning him. He couldn't even stand up once it was done. His Pokemon looked rather worried.

"Arceus!" Harry said, "That bloody HURT!" He pushed himself up painfully, "I'd hate to feel that when you evolve into Luxray. Now I know how you feel when that happens to you, Buizel. But there is a good chance it could happen in battle so you need to be prepared for that possibility." He tried to stand up but couldn't, so instead he crawled to a tree and leaned against it, "Ready? You can say no if you really don't want to do this."

"Bui," Buizel nodded although he looked terrified. However if his trainer could take that kind of abuse, so could he.

"Alright," Harry panted, "Aqua Jet and then Luxio hit him with Shock Wave. But don't put your full power into it." Luxio nodded and Buizel surrounded himself with Aqua Jet and tried to resist the urge to move, but instinct and terror took over and he launched himself away from the attack. However since Shock Wave never missed, it arced after Buizel and hit him anyway. He screamed in agony. Right now, Buizel wished he was a woman; then at least Rivalry would make Luxio's attack less powerful. Luxio stopped and Buizel fell on one knee, struggling to stay conscious.

Harry grimaced but admired Buizel's determination. The fun loving Pokemon was willing to take some serious pain if he felt it was necessary. Harry was glad all of his Pokemon were so devoted to him.

"Okay you took that Shock Wave great, Buizel," he said, "I won't put you through that again tonight. Let's get you to the Pokemon Center." With tremendous effort, Harry heaved himself upright. He stumbled but felt Drifloon's thin arms around his waist and Riolu, although he was nearly half Harry's size, helped the Balloon Pokemon keep him upright. Harry smiled at them gratefully and recalled Buizel, Chimchar, Combee and Luxio whilst Drifloon and Riolu supported him on his way back to the Pokemon Center.

 **Things get a bit dark during the Hearthome City Tag Battle Tournament, and not just because Paul is shown abusing his Pokémon.**


	14. Tag Battle Tournament Part 1

Dawn was still sad the next day. Ash, Brock and, before they left, Zoey and Nando had all done their best to cheer her up but she still felt terrible. Harry met her in the Hearthome City stadium as they prepared for the Tag Battle Competition.

Both of them were pleasantly surprised when they found out that they were going to be partners throughout the tournament.

"Blimey," Harry said, "What were the odds?" He smiled shyly at Dawn and she smiled back.

"You can say that again," grumbled Ash from behind them. They turned to him and saw his partner.

"Damn," Harry muttered. It was Paul.

"I'm not thrilled either, kid," the cold boy grunted.

"Hey Harry!" called a voice and Harry turned to see Barry coming towards him with a strange boy wearing glasses who was following at a much slower pace.

"Good you're here," Harry said, "And you're not my partner so I can beat the stuffing out of you."

"Not gonna happen," Barry replied.

"Hang on," said Dawn, "Don't I know you? Didn't you used to live in Twinleaf Town?"

"Yeah but then we moved out," Barry said, "Why? Am I supposed to know you?"

"I'm Dawn," Dawn said, "I'm Joanna's daughter." Barry looked at her blankly.

"Don't remember," he said. Dawn sweat dropped, "Well, I'll see you guys later!" Barry shot off back to his partner.

"Where's Brock?" asked Harry. They all looked around, except Paul who stared into space indifferently.

"Not again," muttered Ash after a brief search around the stadium. Brock was in the process of flirting with a pretty girl. Croagunk emerged from his Poke Ball to stop him.

"Um, are you Brock's partner?" Dawn asked as they approached the girl after Croagunk had dragged Brock away.

"Yeah," she replied, "My name's Holly."

"Sorry about our friend," Ash said, "He's always like that." Holly shrugged.

"Well he'll certainly be an interesting partner," she said.

* * *

Harry had never been in front of a crowd before. The stadium was packed with people. Dawn seemed at ease; she had experience in this kind of situation from her contests but Harry felt like he was going to be sick.

Their first opponents were a teenaged boy and girl.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen!" bellowed the commentator, "The first battle of the first round of the Hearthome City Tag Battle Competition is about to begin! Each trainer will battle with one Pokemon, used in combination with their partners Pokemon. Enjoy!" The crowd cheered. To Harry it sounded more like a monster roaring at him.

"Hey," Dawn said, "You okay?"

"I… I've never done this before," Harry mumbled, "There's so many people."

"Just focus on the battle," Dawn said.

"Are the trainers ready?" asked the referee. The two teenagers nodded with confident smirks.

"Are you?" Dawn asked Harry. For the first time, Harry realized she had nice eyes.

"No," he said, "But I need to get used to this. It'll be a hell of a lot worse at the Pokemon League."

"That's the spirit," Dawn flashed him a smile before glancing at the referee. The referee took that as confirmation that he should start the battle.

"Begin!" he raised his flags.

"Raticate, let's go!" shouted the boy and a rat like Pokemon with huge fangs and long whiskers appeared.

" _Raticate the Mouse Pokemon and evolved form of Rattata. Its whiskers help it maintain its balance. If attacked, it stands up on its hind legs and bares its fangs at the opponent."_

"Go Kirlia!" cried the girl and Harry recognized Kirlia as the same Pokemon Melanie had used to locate his Riolu, Ash's Pikachu and her Gardevoir when they were stolen by J.

"Buneary, spotlight!" called Dawn and released a tiny rabbit like Pokemon.

" _Buneary the Rabbit Pokemon._ _When it senses danger, it perks up its ears. On cold nights, it sleeps with its head tucked into its fur._ "

Now it was Harry's turn. Right now though, he was more focussed on stopping his stomach from churning. How did so many other people manage to do this sort of thing on a semi-regular basis?

"Riolu," Riolu said and stepped forwards. Harry blinked. Riolu looked back at him and smiled. Harry smiled back.

"Right," he said, "Okay Riolu, I choose you."

"Let's take these kids down quickly," smirked the teenaged boy arrogantly, "Raticate, use your Swords Dance!" Raticate closed its eyes. Several blue glowing swords circled it then crossed together raising its Attack.

"Kirlia, Calm Mind!" called his partner. Kirlia also closed its eyes and the two red horns on its head glowed white, followed by the rest of its body.

"Buneary, Ice Beam on Raticate!" Dawn ordered and Buneary formed an icy orb in her mouth before launching three light blue beams towards Raticate.

"Get in front of Raticate, Kirlia!" ordered the girl and Kirlia stepped into the path of the incoming Ice Beam. The attack froze it completely solid, "Psychic!" Kirlia's eyes glowed blue and the ice around it shattered before flying towards Buneary.

"Bounce!" ordered Dawn and Buneary Bounced into the air to avoid the shards, crossing the battle field in a single leap.

"Psychic!" called the girl again and Kirlia caught Buneary telekinetically in mid-air before smashing her onto the ground.

"Raticate, Hyper Fang," said the boy lazily and Raticate opened its mouth and leapt at the stunned Buneary.

"Buneary!" Dawn screamed.

"Riolu, use Quick Attack!" Harry gave his first command, seeing his partner's Pokemon in trouble. Riolu shot forwards and slammed into Raticate before it could close its huge fangs on Buneary. Riolu had even taken the initiative to make sure his Quick Attack knocked Raticate right into its partner, effectively damaging both Pokemon at once.

"Thanks," Dawn said, relieved. Harry smiled. He was still nervous but they had a battle to win.

"Riolu, use Hidden Power!" he commanded and Riolu formed and fired the orbs.

"Send it back with Psychic!" ordered the girl and Kirlia manipulated the orbs in mid-air before sending them back at Riolu. The Fighting type Pokemon was blasted off his feet by his own attack. Because it was a Psychic type Hidden Power, it had caused a lot of damage.

"Raticate, Hyper Fang!" ordered the boy and Raticate lunged.

"Copycat Kirlia but Psychic on Raticate!" Harry called, speaking so fast his command was barely comprehensible. Riolu understood it nevertheless and recalled how Kirlia had used Psychic before directing the Psychic at Raticate, stopping the rat like Pokemon just before its huge fangs touched him. The fangs were so close that if Riolu stuck out his tongue, he could have licked them. Riolu shot the stunned Raticate a smirk before hurling it into Kirlia.

"Buneary, hit them both with Dizzy Punch!" ordered Dawn and Buneary lunged forwards and thrust out both her ears. The right ear smashed into Kirlia whilst the left slammed into Raticate. The double Dizzy Punch sent both Pokemon sprawling. When they got up, Raticate looked furious but Kirlia just looked dazed.

It was confused.

The teenaged boy was getting angry. It was clear he had expected to have won this battle by now. His partner was calmer but still had a look of frustration.

"Raticate, Quick Attack on Riolu!" the boy roared and Raticate lunged towards Riolu as fast as it could.

Then Kirlia lifted Raticate into the air with Psychic.

"What are you doing?" the boy roared at his partner.

"I didn't tell Kirlia to do that," she protested, "Kirlia, Raticate's not your enemy!" Kirlia didn't seem to hear her. It slammed Raticate down onto the ground very hard.

Harry covered his mouth to stop himself from laughing. The boy was yelling at the girl whilst she pleaded with Kirlia to stop attacking its partner. Harry had forgotten his nerves. Dawn didn't look as amused as he was. If anything she looked like she felt sorry for their opponents.

"Let's put Raticate out of its misery, Buneary!" called Dawn, "Dizzy Punch!" Buneary lunged at Raticate and smashed it with both ears. The rat-like creature hit the ground hard and lay still.

"Raticate is unable to battle!" said the referee.

"Well will you look at that!" bellowed the commentator, "Buneary's earlier Dizzy Punch confused Kirlia so much that it turned on its own partner, leaving Raticate helpless against the finishing Dizzy Punch!" The crowd was cheering loudly. The boy scowled as he recalled his Raticate. However Kirlia finally seemed to have regained its senses and realized it was alone on the battlefield and facing two opponents.

"Kirlia are you okay now?" asked the girl. Unlike her partner, who was fuming about Raticate's defeat, she seemed worried about Kirlia's condition. Kirlia glanced back at her and smiled.

"Kirlia," it said and its trainer smiled back.

"Alright use Psychic on both of them!" Kirlia focussed and lifted both Buneary and Riolu into the air at the same time before slamming them together and smashing them on the ground. Riolu landed on top of Buneary. "Good work, now Shadow Ball!" Kirlia raised formed a black ball of energy between her hands and hurled it.

"Dodge it!" Harry and Dawn shouted at the same time and Buneary and Riolu both rolled in opposite directions to dodge Shadow Ball.

"Dizzy Punch!" yelled Dawn and Buneary lunged, intending to pound Kirlia with both ears.

"Reflect!" the trainer ordered and Kirlia threw up a blue barrier and stumbled slightly from the impact of the Dizzy Punch but was otherwise unharmed.

"Brick Break!" Harry yelled and Riolu leapt forwards and shattered Reflect with a single blow, knocking Kirlia to the ground.

"Buneary, Bounce!" Dawn commanded and Buneary jumped and landed on top of Kirlia who gasped as the Rabbit Pokemon slammed her full weight on top of it. Buneary wasn't a heavy Pokemon but the attack still hurt.

"Psychic!" yelled the girl and Kirlia once again lifted Buneary into the air with its Psychic attack before hurling her.

"Catch Buneary!" Harry shouted and Riolu jumped and caught Buneary in mid-air, "Throw it back at Kirlia!" Riolu spun in mid-air and threw Buneary straight at Kirlia.

"Buneary finish this with Dizzy Punch!" Dawn yelled.

"Buuuneary!" Buneary yelled and smashed both ears into Kirlia so hard that it was hurled into the wall of the stadium.

"Kirlia!" cried the girl.

"Kirlia is unable to battle!" cried the referee, "Riolu and Buneary win so the victory goes to Dawn and Harry!" The crowd cheered loudly. This time they didn't sound like a frightening monster to Harry. He grinned at Dawn.

"You and your Buneary were great," he said.

"So were you and Riolu," Dawn replied. Riolu and Buneary came over to them. Buneary jumped on Dawn for a hug. Riolu and Harry watched them then looked at each other.

Riolu spread his arms for a hug. Harry gladly gave him one.

* * *

Barry and his partner Conway won their first battle, as did Brock and Holly. However, Harry and Dawn were most interested in seeing how Ash and Paul worked together.

"Chimchar, stand by for battle!" Paul released his Chimchar.

"Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash said and Pikachu darted forwards. Harry had never actually seen Ash's Pikachu in battle, except for his brief encounter with J's Drapion and when he shocked her henchmen, so he was quite excited to see what the Mouse Pokemon was capable of.

"Magmar, you're up!" bellowed one of their opponents and a Pokemon that seemed to be made of fire, although its humanoid body was solid, appeared. Dawn scanned it.

" _Magmar, the Spitfire Pokemon and evolved form of Magby. Magmar lives in volcanos and enjoys swimming in searing hot lava._ "

"Rhydon, let's go!" yelled the other opponent and a large, grey Pokemon made of rocks that looked somewhat like a rhinoceros, although it stood on two legs, appeared. Harry scanned it.

" _Rhydon, the Drill Pokemon and evolved form of Rhyhorn. Rhydon can survive in lava and its horn is capable of shattering a huge boulder with ease._ "

"Two Pokemon that can survive in lava," Harry grimaced, "Chimchar's Fire type moves are as good as useless and Pikachu's Electric attacks won't damage Rhydon at all."

"No need to worry," Dawn said, "Ash's Pikachu has beaten Ground types before and Paul's Chimchar is tougher than it looks."

"Pikachu Thunderbolt!" ordered Ash. Knowing that Thunderbolt wouldn't even tickle Rhydon, Pikachu directed it at Magmar. The Thunderbolt turned in mid-air and hit Rhydon instead, who didn't even blink as it absorbed the electricity into its horn.

"Don't know Rhydon's Special Ability, huh?" Paul snorted. Ash glared at him. Paul had spoken loudly enough for Harry, Dawn and Brock to hear him.

"That's not a fair comment," Brock noted, "there's a good chance that Rhydon could have had Rock Head as its Ability."

"So what Ability does it have?" asked Dawn.

"Lightningrod," Brock explained, "It draws in Electric type moves so that Rhydon can absorb them. A side effect is that it raises a Pokemon's Special Attack but Rhydon's more of a Physical fighter anyway so Ash and Paul probably don't need to worry about that.

"Rhydon, Thunderbolt on Chimchar!" yelled Rhydon's trainer.

"I spoke too soon!" Brock said as Rhydon launched an electrical blast from its horn.

"Pikachu, protect Chimchar!" Ash called and Pikachu jumped in front of the Thunderbolt. Despite the Lightningrod boost, Pikachu shrugged off the electricity easily.

"Magmar, Lava Plume!" ordered Magmar's trainer and the Spitfire Pokemon caused an explosion around it, creating a mix of smog and fire to cover the area. Rhydon simply stood there, not doing anything to defend itself from its partner's attack.

"Chimchar, charge into that Lava Plume!" Paul ordered and Chimchar obeyed.

"Pikachu, use your tail to jump!" Ash commanded and Pikachu used his tail as a springboard to launch himself above the Lava Plume and out of harm's way. Harry was impressed.

"Wow, I didn't know a Pikachu could jump like that!" he said.

"Well that's Ash's Pikachu for you," Dawn said proudly.

"Flamethrower!" Paul called and Chimchar, using the Lava Plume to boost his power, launched the attack at Rhydon.

It had no effect. Rhydon just smirked and Ash couldn't resist taunting his partner.

"Don't know Rhydon can survive in lava, huh?" he sneered and Paul shot him an irritated glare.

"Hammer Arm!" yelled Rhydon's trainer and Rhydon charged through the Lava Plume which was starting to die down and smashed its glowing white arm into Chimchar sending him flying. However Rhydon and its trainer had forgotten about Pikachu who was still above it and descending fast.

"Pikachu, Iron Tail!" Ash ordered and Pikachu's tail turned to iron before he somersaulted and smashed it into the surprised Rhydon's head with enough force to cause it to lose its balance. Rhydon threw out an arm to break its fall but the attack had clearly hurt.

"Chimchar, use Dig!" ordered Paul and Chimchar dived into the ground. Rhydon's trainer looked at his partner and they both smirked.

"Magmar Protect!"

"Rhydon, Earthquake!"

Ash gasped in horror. Paul remained expressionless.

"Chimchar, get out of the ground!" Ash yelled as Magmar surrounded itself with a green barrier and Rhydon stomped hard on the ground, causing the battlefield to shake. Pikachu struggled to keep his balance but Chimchar was in an even worse predicament. The Earthquake was caving in the tunnel he had just dug.

And Paul still wasn't worried.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack then Iron Tail on that Rhydon!" Ash ordered. Despite the shaking battlefield, Pikachu obeyed and shot towards Rhydon like a bullet. He picked up enough speed to make a huge leap which got him to Rhydon without being hindered by the Earthquake.

"Chu, Pika!" he cried and smashed the Iron Tail into Rhydon's face, knocking it off its feet. Rhydon moaned slightly and didn't get up.

"Rhydon is unable to battle!" the crowd exploded into applause.

"Amazing!" bellowed the commentator, "Today we have just witnessed a tiny little Pikachu defeating a hulking Rhydon!" Harry stared at Pikachu in astonishment.

"Wow," he said, "That was incredible!"

"I told you there was no need to worry," Dawn said happily.

"But what happened to Chimchar?" asked Brock. In the excitement of seeing Pikachu defeat a Ground type at least three times his size, Harry had almost forgotten about the Chimp Pokemon. A moment later, Chimchar heaved himself out of the ground, battered and bruised and barely able to stay on his feet. He tottered forwards a few steps, then collapsed.

"Chimchar is also unable to battle," the referee announced, "So this is now a one on one battle!"

Paul scowled.

"Well what did he expect?" asked Brock, "Earthquake's super effective against Chimchar even when it's not using Dig. Underground, Chimchar didn't stand a chance."

Paul recalled Chimchar and glared at the Poke Ball before putting it away. Ash glanced at Chimchar's Poke Ball sadly and then shot Paul a look that seemed remarkably like hatred.

"Magmar, Fire Blast!" Ash was forced to turn back to the battle as Magmar launched huge flames in the shape of a star at Pikachu.

"Dodge it and use Thunder!" Ash ordered and Pikachu leapt over the Fire Blast. With no Rhydon to absorb the attack, Thunder, which was even stronger than Thunderbolt, struck Magmar and caused it to bellow with pain, "Now Iron Tail." Pikachu somersaulted and slammed his tail into the stunned Magmar, knocking it off its feet. Magmar's trainer snarled in frustration.

"Use Fire Punch!" he bellowed. Magmar picked itself up and lunged towards Pikachu with its fist surrounded by fire.

"Volt Tackle!" Ash yelled and Harry watched excitedly. He had only witnessed a Volt Tackle once before and that one had been avoided by J's Drapion.

"Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika," Pikachu said repeatedly as electricity surrounded his body and he charged at Magmar, "Pika, PIKA!" He smashed into the Spitfire Pokemon's flaming fist and there was an explosion. Magmar toppled to the ground, surrounded by sparks. Pikachu landed on his feet but sparks surrounded him too and he winced in pain. Harry glanced questioningly at Brock.

"That's Volt Tackle's recoil damage," Brock explained, understanding the younger boy's questioning look.

"Magmar's unable to battle!" cried the referee, "Pikachu wins and the victory goes to Ash and Paul!"

"Blimey," Harry said as the crowd cheered wildly, "How much stronger would that Pikachu be if it evolved into Raichu?" Brock and Dawn took that as a rhetorical question and didn't reply.

 **Kirlia's Shadow Ball would have damaged Buneary if it had hit. Can anyone tell me why Normal types were made immune to Ghost type moves? It never made much sense to me, so I might have Ghost type moves damage Normal types.**


	15. Tag Battle Tournament Part 2

**This chapter's rather dark and might make you look at a certain Pokémon quite differently.**

Harry's Buizel took a Shock Wave from his Luxio and fell onto his knees, grimacing in agony. Harry winced at his Pokemon's pain. He still felt horrible for doing this to Buizel, despite the Sea Weasel Pokemon's willingness to take the abuse.

"That's enough, Luxio," Harry said and Luxio obediently stopped. Harry knelt beside Buizel, "You okay, Buizel?"

"Buizel," Buizel replied, giving him a look that seemed to say something like "Of course I'm not okay!"

"Here," Harry sprayed a Super Potion on him. Buizel seemed to feel better after that, "It's going to take time for you to get used to it, Buizel. I know it hurts, but it'll make you stronger." Buizel nodded.

"CHAR!" came a shriek of pain from somewhere else in the area. Harry glanced around. His own Chimchar was in her Poke Ball right now and Harry knew of only one other Chimchar in the area.

"Riolu!" cried Riolu and hurried towards the scream. Harry, Buizel and Luxio followed.

They found Paul's Chimchar standing between four other Pokemon. Three of them were familiar to Harry; they were the Torterra, Ursaring and Murkrow he'd used to battle Cynthia. The other Pokemon was an Elekid who was sneering rather sadistically at the Chimchar between them.

"Elekid, Thunder," Paul said coldly. Elekid whirled its arms to build up electricity, "Torterra, Hyper Beam," Torterra formed a yellow orb in its jaws, "Murkrow, Shadow Ball," Murkrow formed a black ball in its beak, "Ursaring, Focus Blast," Ursaring formed a blue orb between its hands, "Chimchar, use Flame Wheel." Chimchar, although he looked like he had just been beaten mercilessly, obeyed. The Flame Wheel successfully blocked Thunder and Shadow Ball, since their users were only in their first Evolution stage, like Chimchar, but Focus Blast knocked him backwards and Hyper Beam blasted him so hard that his Flame Wheel was insufficient to defend him. Chimchar smashed into a tree with an agonized shriek.

Harry was horrified by Paul's brutality. He didn't seem at all worried about Chimchar's condition. And the worst part was that Harry had been using a similar training method on Buizel for the past two days. He wanted to intervene but doing so would feel hypocritical. He paused, wondering if he should do something to stop the abuse Chimchar was going through. This seemed more like downright cruelty than mere training and only Paul's Torterra was showing any hint of concern for Chimchar's condition. It glanced at its trainer as if to say "I think Chimchar's had enough," but Paul didn't even seem to notice. Unlike Torterra, Murkrow was expressionless and Ursaring and Elekid seemed to be rather enjoying themselves.

"Thunder again, Elekid," Paul said with chilling coldness. Elekid grinned cruelly and spun its arms, charging up another Thunder attack. Harry realized Chimchar needed someone to stand up for him.

"Luxio…" Harry began, pushing back his hatred for hypocrisy for the sake of Chimchar's safety, but Ash, Dawn and Brock had just arrived on the scene. Without even being told to do so by Ash, Pikachu leapt between Chimchar and the incoming Thunder attack, absorbing it into his own body. He winced slightly but shrugged off his discomfort and glared furiously at Paul and his Pokémon. Torterra looked at its trainer uneasily upon seeing how badly Chimchar had been hurt.

"Pika, PIKA!" Pikachu growled, his cheeks sparking threateningly. Elekid smirked at him.

"Knock it off!" Ash yelled. Paul looked at him indifferently as Ash picked up Chimchar, "I'm taking Chimchar to the Pokemon Center, got it?" Paul stared at him impassively for a moment.

"Be my guest," he said finally.

* * *

Harry joined Ash, Dawn, Brock and Paul in the Pokemon Center, still feeling appalled by the cruelty he had witnessed. Buizel was still out of his Poke Ball alongside Riolu, although Luxio had been recalled. Harry kept shooting worried glances at Buizel. After what he had asked Buizel to take from Luxio, he felt like he was as bad as Paul.

"I'll never forget the day I met Chimchar," Paul was saying to Harry's friends, "I had just captured my Ninjask when Chimchar came fleeing past me. It was being chased by a pack of Zangoose." Harry stayed back, not wanting to face Ash, Dawn and Brock right now, but he was listening, "It might have been a fight for food or territory. I don't know but whatever the reason was, the Zangoose wouldn't stop attacking. Chimchar was eventually driven to the edge of a cliff. Then it activated Blaze." Harry thought about his own Chimchar. She had used Blaze a few times but never in a situation like the one Paul's Chimchar had been in, "It then pulled off the most powerful Flame Wheel I've ever seen and drove the Zangoose away. After witnessing that I knew I had to have Chimchar for myself, so I caught it."

"I get it," Brock said gravely, "You're trying to get Chimchar to recapture that power by putting him through such harsh training."

"I have to push Chimchar to the limit!" Paul explained, "If it would unleash the power it showed on that day, it could be the strongest of all my Fire type Pokemon! But whenever it reaches the point where Blaze could activate it just gives up!"

"It doesn't help that you're destroying Chimchar's confidence," Brock said. Harry and Dawn had never heard him speak with such contempt before. Even Ash was slightly surprised by Brock's tone and he'd known him for years.

"Also Blaze only activates when a Pokemon is exhausted," Harry spoke up for the first time, surprising everyone, "You must push Chimchar _beyond_ exhaustion. My Chimchar's activated Blaze a few times and she's never gone through all that… abuse you've put your Chimchar through!" To emphasize his point, Harry's own Chimchar, who must have been listening from inside her Poke Ball, burst out.

"Char, har!" she said.

"This is none of your business," Paul snarled.

"It is," Harry insisted, "I saw what you were doing to Chimchar too. It was… unjustifiably cruel." Harry found himself wondering, even as he said it, whether the way he had treated Buizel was also unjustifiably cruel. He's intention was to be cruel to be kind, in order to build up Buizel's resistance to Electric attacks but were his and Paul's training techniques really any different? Riolu seemed to sense his trainer's conflicted thoughts and feelings and glanced at him but remained silent.

"I've had enough of your lectures," Paul said, "I'll train my Pokemon however I choose." He stood up and walked away.

"How's Chimchar, Brock?" asked Dawn.

"He'll be okay but he really needs rest," Brock replied. Harry felt like his part in the conversation was over, so he got up, recalled Chimchar and Buizel and left. To his surprise, he bumped into Barry outside the Pokemon Center.

"Hey!" Barry said, "I was looking for you. We'll be facing each other in the tournament tomorrow!"

"Well this time let's make sure the battle doesn't end in a draw," Harry said smiling slightly, although he wasn't really in the mood to talk right now. Barry nodded, "Now excuse me. I'd like to take a walk." Barry stepped aside and Harry and Riolu walked away.

Eventually they found a deserted area and Harry sat down, before letting out his other five Pokemon.

"Guys, I need to ask you something," he said, "And I want you all to answer me honestly. You all know how I've been training Buizel," he glanced at the Sea Weasel Pokemon guiltily but Buizel just smiled cheerfully. Harry wondered if the smile was genuine or not, "It turns out Paul uses similar training methods. And you guys know that Paul's a complete asshole. So my question is this. Am I as bad as Paul?" The Pokemon all glanced at each other. There was a silence. Harry couldn't tell if it was a long one or a short one.

Then Drifloon floated forwards and gently wrapped her arms around Harry.

"Floon," she said affectionately and Harry smiled. Chimchar hopped onto his shoulder and smiled at him. Luxio nuzzled him affectionately and all three of Combee's faces were smiling. Harry looked at his two remaining Pokemon, Buizel, the one he'd been abusing, and Riolu, the one who knew him better than any of the others. Then Buizel stepped forwards and punched his shoulder gently, smiling at him. Riolu gave him a rare hug.

Harry was crying slightly, touched by his Pokemon's loyalty and affection. Even Buizel had no hard feelings towards him and Riolu hadn't hit him with a Brick Break or a Hidden Power. On the contrary, Riolu was hugging him which was something the Emanation Pokemon didn't do often.

"Thanks guys," Harry said, "I love you all." He surprised himself as well as his Pokemon when he said that. Luxio and Buizel looked slightly awkward but Chimchar, still on his shoulder, wrapped her arms around his neck, Drifloon squeezed him a little tighter and Riolu and Combee just smiled. Harry was feeling a bit awkward about the situation, especially with all his Pokemon hugging or at least touching him – except Luxio who had stopped nuzzling him as the Electric type wasn't one for excessive sentimentality – in a display of affection. However he also felt a warm sensation that had nothing to do with body heat or Chimchar's backside.

* * *

Harry and Dawn watched Brock and Holly's Croagunk and Nosepass knock out a Furret and Tyrogue. Then it was their turn to face Barry and Conway. Harry wasn't as nervous as he had been the day before. Dawn had a comforting presence and Harry's emotional discussion with his Pokemon last night had made him feel closer to all of them.

"Let the match begin!" the referee raised his flags.

"Slowking, let's go!" cried Conway and released a Pokemon with a resemblance to a giant otter, giant salamander and hippopotamus with a shell on its head and a growth resembling a ruff, around its neck. Harry raised an eyebrow at the strange Pokemon.

" _Slowking, the Royal Pokemon and one of the evolved forms of Slowpoke. It is highly intelligent and wise and remains calm and composed in any situation._ "

"Okay Heracross!" cried Barry, "Let's get going!" Heracross burst out of its Poke Ball. Harry considered using Drifloon but then remembered how Combee and Heracross had fought over the honey. He had a feeling that both Combee and Heracross might want to finish what they started.

"Go Combee," he released the Tiny Bee Pokemon who instantly recognized Heracross. The two Bug types glared daggers at each other.

"Pachirisu, spotlight!" cried Dawn and let out a tiny, squirrel like Pokemon. Harry had already studied Pachirisu when Dawn sent it out during her contest performance. He briefly wondered if Dawn was still upset about not getting past the first round but the blue haired girl was focussed on the battle.

"Combee use Bug Buzz on Slowking!" Harry ordered and Combee sent the super effective sound waves washing over Slowking. The Royal Pokemon just stood there, taking the attack as calmly as the pokedex implied it was.

"Pachirisu use Spark on Slowking!" called Dawn and Pachirisu surrounded itself with blue electricity and lunged at Slowking.

"Psychic," said Conway so quietly that only Barry, Heracross and Slowking heard the command. Slowking's eyes glowed blue and Pachirisu squealed and thrashed helplessly as it was lifted into the air. Bug Buzz's sound waves were still washing over Slowking. Combee was looking frustrated by the fact that it was shrugging off a super effective hit with such ease. Then Pachirisu went flying towards Combee. Fortunately it stopped its failed Spark before the collision so Combee received no electric shock, but both Pokemon were still sent crashing to the ground.

"Heracross, Fury Attack!" ordered Barry and Heracross flew forwards and slammed its horn first into Combee, then into Pachirisu, then Combee again, then Pachirisu and finally Combee one more time. The poor Tiny Bee Pokemon collapsed in pain. Heracross smirked smugly at her before flying back to join Slowking, who hadn't even moved since the battle began.

"Combee are you okay?" asked Harry. Combee buzzed angrily at Heracross.

"Pachirisu use Sweet Kiss!" ordered Dawn and Pachirisu sent pink hearts, similar to Attract but with a different effect, towards both Slowking and Heracross.

"Safeguard," Conway said calmly and the gem on Slowkings crown glowed light green. A large, crystallized barrier appears around Slowking and Heracross' bodies, protecting them both from Sweet Kiss which dissipated upon making contact with the barrier.

"Combee, Bug Bite on Slowking!" Combee darted forwards with impressive Speed and bit Slowking's ruff with all three of her mouths. The Royal Pokemon just looked down at her. It was actually a bit creepy that it gave no reaction whatsoever to being hit by two super effective moves, "Bug Buzz!"

"Bee!" This time Combee _did_ manage to get a reaction out of Slowking by inflicting a Critical Hit with Bug Buzz at point blank range. The Royal Pokemon stumbled back as Combee released it. Unfortunately Combee had been in enemy territory for too long.

"Horn Attack!" Barry yelled.

"Dodge it quick!" yelled Harry and Combee avoided Horn Attack by what must have literally been an inch.

"Pachirisu use Spark on Heracross!" cried Dawn and Pachirisu charged, shrouding itself in electricity as it ran.

"Psychic," Conway said and once again Slowking stopped Pachirisu in the middle of its charge and hurled it back. It stopped using Spark again but this time Combee managed to avoid being hit by her partner.

"Dawn," Harry said seriously, "Tell Pachirisu to use Discharge."

"But if Pachirisu does that, it might hit Combee!" protested Dawn.

"Just trust me," Harry said.

Dawn looked uncertain but gave the command, "Pachirisu, Discharge!"

"Combee, time to show your Speed!" Harry called as Pachirisu unleashed electricity in all directions. Combee darted this way and that, dodging every single stray bolt flawlessly. Slowking and Heracross however were both receiving a nasty shock, "That was perfect, Combee. Your training with Drifloon and Chimchar really paid off!"

"Combee!" The Tiny Bee Pokemon called happily.

"Aerial Ace on Combee!" yelled Barry. Heracross circled through the air and became surrounded by white streaks. As fast as Combee was, she was helpless against Heracross' Aerial Ace. The attack sent her crashing to the ground.

"Combee!" yelled Harry.

"Finish it with Horn Attack!" Barry yelled and Heracross descended on Combee, giving her a nasty smirk as it moved. Combee was determined to wipe that smirk of the smug Pokemon's face.

She glowed white.

Heracross cancelled its Horn Attack as a bright light shone from Combee, dazzling the Single Horn Pokemon. The energy emanating from Combee didn't exactly hurt but it was uncomfortable and certainly distracting. Combee grew larger. She grew an abdomen and arms. When the light faded, a Vespiquen was hovering above the battlefield.

"Vespiquen," she said and smirked at Heracross who sweatdropped at the sight of the much larger and more intimidating Pokemon.

"Awesome!" Harry said, "What a great time to evolve." Beside him, Dawn retrieved her pokedex.

" _Vespiquen, the Beehive Pokemon and the evolved form of a female Combee. Her abdomen is a honeycomb for grubs. She controls whether the grubs live long enough to develop into adult Combee or are simply used to fight foes._ "

"Wait, so Vespiquen has control of life and death over Combee?" Harry asked, looking at Vespiquen. That idea was disturbing. Vespiquen's red eyes then glowed and a dozen tiny Combee, half the size Vespiquen had been before she evolved, emerged from her huge abdomen.

"Hey no fair!" yelled Barry as all the Combee started attacking his Heracross with Bug Bite from all sides, while Vespiquen folded her arms and watched smugly.

"Wait, is that legal?" Dawn called to the judge.

"Attack Order is an official Pokemon attack," he replied, "So yes, it's legal."

"Slowking, use Psychic to get rid of those Combee!" yelled Conway. He seemed worried about the turn of events. Slowking focussed on all the Combee at once and threw them all aside. Heracross furiously glared at Vespiquen.

"Pachirisu, use Spark on Slowking!" Dawn called and Pachirisu charged.

"Psychic!" Slowking stopped Pachirisu and threw it back.

"Gust on Pachirisu!" Harry called, knowing the attack wouldn't hurt the Electric type much. Vespiquen used a Gust attack far more powerful than she had ever used as a Combee and Pachirisu changed direction in mid-air and rocketed back towards Slowking. Dawn realized what Harry wanted Pachirisu to do.

"Spark!" called Dawn. Using the added momentum from Vespiquen's Gust to increase its Speed and power, Pachirisu smashed into Slowking. Conway gasped in shock as the Royal Pokemon hit the ground hard.

"Slowking is unable to battle!"

"Heracross, Brick Break on Pachirisu!" yelled Barry before Conway could even recall Slowking. Heracross raised a hand and slammed it down hard on Pachirisu's skull. The EleSquirrel Pokemon stood still for a moment, with Heracross' hand still on its head, then collapsed.

"Pachirisu is also unable to battle!"

"Well folks, the evolution of Harry's Combee seemed to turn this match around, but Barry's Heracross swiftly turned the tables once more by taking out Pachirisu with Brick Break!" yelled the commentator, "Now it's a battle between Heracross and Vespiquen!" Both Bug types were glaring at each other.

"Heracross, Horn Attack!" ordered Barry and Heracross lunged at Vespiquen.

"Defend Order!" Harry called. The tiny Combee grubs, who were still buzzing mindlessly around the battlefield, formed into a large wall between Heracross and their queen. Heracross smashed into the wall. After a moment of struggling, it broke through but had lost most of its momentum. Vespiquen was knocked backwards but quickly recovered, "Attack Order!"

"Vespiquen!" Vespiquen commanded to her Combee who obediently flew back at Heracross and once again started assaulting him with Bug Bite.

"Heracross, Bulk Up!" Barry yelled. Ignoring the pain of the infuriating Combee, Heracross tensed its muscles and glowed red, raising both its Attack and Defence, "Aerial Ace!"

"Defend Order!" yelled Harry. The baby Combee shot back towards their mother and managed to form a wall between her and Heracross before it could reach her. Thanks to the boost from Bulk Up and the super effectiveness of Aerial Ace, Heracross smashed through the wall of Combee a bit more easily than last time and slammed into Vespiquen, knocking her out of the air. Winded, Vespiquen lay on the ground for a moment before raising herself up slightly on her arms and glaring furiously at Heracross. She was reaching her limit and she knew it, but her newfound power over Combee had also gifted her with a healing move to remedy that.

"Vespiquen!" Vespiquen sent another command to her Combee. Obediently they buzzed around her using their own energy to heal her. However they were only babies and had a very limited supply of energy.

One by one, each Combee dropped to the ground, unmistakeably dead.

Harry watched in horror as Vespiquen, who had been an affectionate, playful Pokemon before she evolved, ascended into the air again, having used the energy – no the _lives_ – of her own children to heal herself. Dawn actually took a step back. The crowd had gone silent. Vespiquen didn't even seem to notice her children's corpses lying around her.

"Did she kill them?" Dawn whispered faintly.

"That must have been Heal Order," Harry whispered. He'd never seen it before but Vespiquen was the only Pokemon in the world who could use it, "But I never… I never knew Combee had to _die_ in order to heal Vespiquen!" At least it explained why trainers who used Vespiquen never had an entire army of Combee following them around. After this battle, he never wanted Vespiquen to summon Combee grubs in battle ever again. Heracross stared at the corpses of the dead Combee, then looked at Vespiquen with undisguised terror.

"Quen," Vespiquen said seeming oblivious to the carnage around her.

"Heracross, Aerial Ace!" yelled Barry desperately and Heracross made one last brave attempt to defeat Vespiquen. It surrounded itself with white streaks and smashed into her with enough power to slam her against the wall.

For a moment it seemed like Heracross had won. Then Vespiquen hovered back into the air. She was battered and bruised from the Bulk Up boosted, super effective hit and unlike before she didn't have any Combee to shield her, but she hovered with an eerie, regal calm.

Like a Queen.

A tyrant Queen.

Harry wanted to finish this battle right now. Vespiquen was actually scaring him.

"Use Gust!" Harry called. Vespiquen flapped her wings hard. Heracross planted its feet on the ground, desperately battling against the wind but the Gust attack was too strong. Heracross was blown into the wall of the stadium.

"Heracross is unable to battle!" said the referee, "Vespiquen wins so the victors are Harry and Dawn!"

A few people clapped and there were some cheers but everyone seemed traumatized by the horror show Vespiquen had just given them. Vespiquen turned to her trainer, expecting praise for her victory but instead Harry just stared at her with horrified expression. Vespiquen didn't understand why he was looking at her like that. She felt a bit hurt.

"Quen?" she asked hovering towards Harry. Dawn took a step back. Harry shakily took out a Poke Ball.

"Vespiquen return," he said and Vespiquen was still wondering what she'd done wrong as the red light sucked her into her Poke Ball.

Harry tried to distract himself from Vespiquen by watching Ash and Paul's next battle. He was surprised by Paul's chosen Pokemon.

"Chimchar, stand by for battle!" Chimchar, still looking a bit battered from the beating he'd taken the night before, emerged from his Poke Ball.

"Wait," Ash protested, "Chimchar needs rest." Paul ignored him. Ash glanced at Pikachu who spread his arms helplessly, "Okay, Turtwig, I choose you!" Turtwig burst out of the Poke Ball, "Make sure you protect Chimchar during the battle, okay Turtwig."

"Turtwig," Turtwig nodded at his trainer then looked at Chimchar, "Turtwig."

"Char," Chimchar said, smiling at him.

"Metang, let's go!" one of their opponents released a levitating green Pokemon that resembled a flying saucer with arms that ended in steel claws. Dawn looked it up in her pokedex.

" _Metang the Iron Claw Pokemon and evolved form of Beldum._ _This Pokémon possesses strong psychokinetic power and turns its arms to the rear in order to travel at high speed._ "

"Zangoose, come forward!" cried his ally and the Pokemon of Paul's Chimchar's worst nightmares appeared. Zangoose resembled a mongoose with huge, sharp claws. Dawn scanned it too.

" _Zangoose the Cat Ferret Pokemon. For unknown reasons, Zangoose has a burning hatred for Seviper._ "

"Metang, use Take Down on Chimchar!" ordered Metang's trainer. Metang obediently locked its arms against its body and pointed them backwards before launching itself at Chimchar.

"Flame Wheel!" ordered Paul and Chimchar intercepted the Take Down in a wheel of flames. The impact knocked both Pokemon backwards but Metang took more damage due to the super effectiveness of Flame Wheel and the recoil damage from Take Down.

"Crush Claw!" called Zangoose's trainer and the Cat Ferret Pokemon leapt towards Chimchar. Chimchar saw the Pokemon descending and gasped with terror.

"Turtwig, Razor Leaf!" Ash ordered and Turtwig hastily launched sharp leaves at Zangoose. Although Zangoose couldn't dodge the attack in midair, it made up for this by simply using Crush Claw to cut the leaves to pieces. However the attack distracted it from Chimchar who hastily backed away, "Now use Tackle!"

"Twig," Turtwig lunged at Zangoose.

"Dodge it," Zangoose stepped lazily aside.

"Confusion!" Metang caught Turtwig with its Psychic powers and hurled him back on top of Chimchar.

"Turtwig, Chimchar!" Ash cried.

"Zangoose, use Crush Claw!" Zangoose leapt towards both Turtwig and Chimchar. Upon seeing it, Chimchar cowered but Turtwig stood up fearlessly to the Cat Ferret Pokemon.

"Use Bite!" Ash yelled and Turtwig opened his mouth and bit the surprised Zangoose's claws, stopping Crush Claw.

"Metang, use Take Down on Turtwig!" Metang angled itself so that it was aiming at Turtwig.

"Chimchar use Flame Wheel on Zangoose," Paul said.

"Wait!" Ash cried, "If you attack Zangoose you'll hit Turtwig!"

"I don't care," Paul said heartlessly, "Do it!" Chimchar hesitated. Metang was closing in. Turtwig was going to get hurt either way. Zangoose had shifted its position ever so slightly to give Metang a clear shot, even though Turtwig was still gripping its claws tightly in his jaws.

"Char!" Chimchar cried and cursed himself as he rolled towards Zangoose and Turtwig. Turtwig screamed as his own partner rolled past him, scorching the entire left side of his body in order to reach Zangoose. With Zangoose and Turtwig both out of the way, Chimchar now had a clear shot at Metang. Once again the collision blew both Pokemon backwards.

Chimchar had just caused severe damage to all three other Pokemon with a single move. Why on earth was Paul taking such a powerful Pokemon for granted?

"Turtwig!" Ash yelled and Chimchar looked back at Turtwig, feeling terrible. Turtwig was clearly suffering from a burn and it was Chimchar's fault.

Zangoose was the first Pokemon to recover. Its trainer yelled, "Crush Claw!" and Zangoose leapt forwards and slammed its claws down on Chimchar, pinning him to the ground. Chimchar started flailing desperately. Then he looked up at Zangoose. He wasn't sure if Zangoose was using the move Leer or just leering in general, but either way it was so terrifying that Chimchar hid his face in his hands.

"Turtwig, Razor Leaf!" ordered Ash and Turtwig picked himself up and launched Razor Leaf at Zangoose. This time Zangoose was so focussed on the terrified Chimchar that it didn't react in time to dodge or deflect the attack. It screeched angrily and stumbled away. Turtwig leapt protectively in front of Chimchar. Even after Chimchar had burned him, Turtwig was still willing to put himself in harm's way for him. But the burn was taking its toll and Turtwig fell onto his side with a groan of pain.

"Zangoose, Fire Blast!" roared Zangoose's trainer triumphantly. Zangoose took a deep breath and shot a huge star of fire from its mouth. In his condition, Turtwig was in no shape to avoid it.

"Char, har!" Chimchar leapt between the Fire Blast and his wounded partner and stopped the attack with both hands. He glanced back at Turtwig, who managed to give him a weak smile.

"Turtwig, Synthesis!" called Ash and Turtwig absorbed sunlight in order to heal whilst Chimchar held off the Fire Blast, "Hurry Paul! Give Chimchar a command!"

Paul stared at Chimchar. As usual, there was no expression on his face, but both hands were clenched into fists. He was furious that Chimchar had thrown himself in front of the Fire Blast to protect a weaker Pokemon. To Paul that only confirmed that Chimchar was too weak and soft-hearted to ever recreate the power he had witnessed when he captured him.

Paul turned away.

"Take Down, Metang!" yelled Metang's trainer and Metang lunged forwards. Realizing that Paul wasn't going to do anything, Ash took matters into his own hands.

"Chimchar, Flamethrower!" he yelled. Chimchar looked at him in surprise, "Do it quick!" Metang was closing in. Chimchar's expression grew determined. He flipped backwards, absorbing the Fire Blast into his backside before unleashing a powerful Flamethrower.

"Metaaaa!" Metang screamed and crashed to the ground hard.

"Metang is unable to battle!"

"How's that Paul?" Ash asked, "Did you see that Flamethrower?"

Paul didn't even turn his head.

"Zangoose, use Crush Claw!" bellowed Zangoose's trainer. Zangoose leapt towards Chimchar.

"Flamethrower again!" Ash ordered. Chimchar saw Zangoose approaching with a sadistic smirk and remembered the looks those other Zangoose had given him so long ago. All that suppressed terror and trauma burst out of Chimchar in the form of another, devastating Flamethrower attack.

Zangoose looked much less frightening once the flames died down.

"Zangoose is also unable to battle! Ash and Paul are the winners!" The crowd cheered loudly. Ash beamed at Turtwig and Chimchar. Turtwig grinned back but Chimchar looked up at Paul who was still looking away from him.

* * *

"You're out of here," Paul said letting Chimchar out of his Poke Ball.

"Chim! Char!" Chimchar gasped.

"Paul!" Ash, Dawn, Brock and Harry joined him, "So that's the end of all that special training?"

"That's right," Paul said, "Obviously I need another Fire type." He turned and started to walk away.

"You heartless son of a bitch!" Harry roared at him, shocking everyone. Even Paul turned back with a look of mild surprise, "Chimchar should have burned you alive after the way you've treated it!"

"It's too much of a coward," Paul said arrogantly and turned away. Harry seriously considered telling Riolu to attack the older boy. By the way Riolu was shaking with rage, he had a feeling the Emanation Pokemon was having similar thoughts.

Behind them, Chimchar sadly turned and started to walk away. Just when he had finally found the motivation to unleash huge power like Paul had always wanted him too, Paul decided to abandon him. And that was because Paul didn't understand that Chimchar had never had the kind of motivation with his cruel, brutal trainer that he'd had during those few moments under Ash's command.

Ash was first to notice that Chimchar was leaving. Chimchar was staring at the ground and dragging his feet miserably. Ash couldn't remember the last time he had seen something look so pitiful.

"Chimchar, come with us!" he called. Chimchar stopped. The other members of the group looked at Ash as he went over to Chimchar and knelt beside him, stretching out his hand.

"Char?" Chimchar said.

"Yeah," Ash said, "We'll have a blast and work hard."

"Pika, Pika," Pikachu said encouragingly. Chimchar looked at Ash's outstretched hand. Harry looked at Paul.

"Do you have any idea how much potential you've wasted by releasing Chimchar?" he asked, "Because Ash certainly does." Paul sniffed dismissively.

"They're perfect for each other," he said disdainfully and walked away. Harry turned back to Ash and Chimchar. Chimchar was smiling. Then he took Ash's hand.


	16. Tag Battle Tournament Part 3

Harry needed to talk to Vespiquen but right now he was scared of her. He decided to get the Tag Battle Tournament out of the way first. He had expected the experience to be fun, if nerve-wracking, but with Paul abusing his Pokemon, Harry realizing that _he_ had been abusing Buizel and Vespiquen killing her babies, it had turned into a bit of a nightmare. Harry was really glad Ash, Dawn and Brock were with him. Especially Dawn. He liked having her as a partner.

With the competition narrowing down there were only two rounds left. Ash and Paul battled two young girls.

"Staravia I choose you!"

"Torterra stand by for battle!"

"Carnivine let's go!"

"Porygon come on out!"

A Pokemon that looked like a floating Venus flytrap appeared alongside a very strange Pokémon that looked like a pink and blue bird made with primitive 3D graphics software.

" _Carnivine the Bug Catcher Pokémon. It attracts prey with its sweet-smelling saliva then chomps down. It takes a whole day to eat prey."_

" _Porygon the Virtual Pokémon. A Pokémon that consists entirely of programming code, Porygon is capable of moving freely in cyberspace_."

"Staravia use Quick Attack on Porygon!" Ash ordered and Staravia shot forwards, leaving behind white energy as he flew and slammed into Porygon.

"Porygon use Lock On!" called Porygon's trainer and Porygon's blue "beak" glowed red and a red ring shot out of it and landed on Staravia. It didn't do any damage but Ash had experienced Lock On before when he battled Pyramid King Brandon so he was slightly worried.

"Carnivine use Bullet Seed on Torterra!" ordered Carnivine's trainer and the Bug Catcher Pokémon shot hard seeds from its huge mouth.

"Hyper Beam!" Paul ordered and Torterra formed a yellow orb in its mouth which extended into a yellow beam. Hyper Beam overpowered Bullet Seed effortlessly and knocked out Carnivine with a single hit.

"Carnivine is unable to battle!"

"No!" cried Carnivine's trainer looking like she was about to cry.

"Don't worry," said her partner, "Porygon can do this. Use Zap Cannon!" Porygon formed a yellow ball which crackled with electrical power and shot it towards Staravia. The Starling Pokémon tried to dodge the attack but because of Lock On it turned in midair and struck him causing him to shriek with pain, "Good work now use Ice Beam!"

"Porygon!" cried Porygon and formed a blue orb in front of its beak before shooting three beams out of the orb knocking Staravia out.

"Staravia is unable to battle!"

"Thanks Staravia you take a break," Ash said.

"Porygon use Ice Beam again!" called the girl and Porygon aimed another freezing beam, this time at Torterra. The Continent Pokémon roared in pain.

"Leaf Storm!" called Paul and Torterra launched a swirling storm of leaves from the tree on its back, knocking out Porygon with one attack.

"Porygon is unable to battle, Torterra wins so Ash and Paul are the victors!"

Following Ash and Paul's victory, Dawn and Harry were paired with Brock and Holly.

"Croagunk, let's go!" Brock sent out the Pokemon that frequently Poison Jabbed him.

"Go Farfetch'd!" cried Holly and released a bird like Pokemon holding a plant stalk.

" _Farfetch'd, the Wild Duck Pokemon. Farfetch'd uses its plant stalk as a weapon but also uses it as a food ration and to build its nest._ "

"Drifloon let's go!" Harry sent out the Balloon Pokemon.

"Buizel, spotlight!" Dawn sent out a Buizel that looked identical to Harry's Buizel, even being the same gender, but held himself with an air of arrogance that Harry's Buizel lacked.

"Drifloon, use Acrobatics on Croagunk!" ordered Harry and Drifloon darted towards Croagunk leaving two after-images as she moved

"Acrobatics too!" ordered Holly and her Farfetch'd collided with Drifloon in midair before she could reach Croagunk.

"Buizel, use Sonicboom on Croagunk!" Dawn shouted.

"Poison Jab!" countered Brock. Buizel launched several Sonicbooms at Croagunk but he blocked every one of them with Poison Jab.

"Drifloon, Constrict!" called Harry and Drifloon wrapped her arms around Farfetch'd.

"Night Slash!" cried Holly. Although Farfetch'd couldn't move very easily because of Constrict, it managed to raise its stalk which glowed black before slashing Drifloon.

"Buizel, Aqua Jet on Farfetch'd!" called Dawn and Buizel launched himself at the Wild Duck Pokemon and slammed into it. Now Buizel was also positioned above Croagunk, "Now Water Gun on Croagunk!"

"Dodge and use Brick Break!" Croagunk took a step back to avoid Water Gun then jumped and slammed a Brick Break onto Buizel's head, knocking him to the ground.

"Farfetch'd, Acrobatics on Buizel!" Holly called.

"Drifloon, grab Buizel and dodge!" Harry ordered hastily. Farfetch'd darted towards Buizel but Drifloon grabbed him and hastily flew out of the way taking Buizel with her. Buizel nodded to her briefly before turning back to their opponents.

"Use Poison Sting on Buizel!" Brock called and Croagunk fired a spray of purple darts from his mouth at Buizel.

"Drifloon, Ominous Wind!" Harry called and Drifloon spun forming an Ominous Wind which blew the Poison Sting straight back into Croagunk.

"Farfetch'd, use Night Slash!" Holly cried and Farfetch'd lunged, its stalk glowing black once more.

"Minimize!" Harry called and Drifloon shrunk and manoeuvred around Farfetch'd, "Constrict!" Drifloon returned to her full size and grabbed Farfetch'd again. Since she was behind the Wild Duck Pokemon this time, Farfetch'd couldn't knock her away with Night Slash.

"Buizel, use Aqua Jet on Farfetch'd!" Dawn ordered, glancing quickly at Harry to make sure it was okay as Drifloon was still holding Farfetch'd. Harry barely had time to nod before Buizel launched himself at Farfetch'd and Drifloon, surrounded by water.

"Release it!" Harry called to Drifloon and at the last second she released Farfetch'd and darted to the side, allowing Buizel to hit Farfetch'd without any risk of hurting Drifloon in the process. Farfetch'd fell to the ground hard.

"Farfetch'd is unable to battle!" Holly sadly recalled her Pokemon. Drifloon joined Buizel but Buizel held up a hand and motioned her back. Drifloon looked confused.

"What's Buizel doing?" asked Harry.

"I guess Buizel wants to battle Croagunk by itself," Dawn said. Buizel glanced at her and nodded before looking back at Croagunk, unintimidated by his inflating and deflating sacs.

"Okay," Harry said, "Drifloon do you mind staying out of this one?" Drifloon floated over to him, wrapping her arms gently around his neck and settling on his shoulder to watch. Harry heard a few people say "aaww" at Drifloon's public display of affection. He blushed slightly.

"Well this is unusual," said the commentator, "Although Drifloon is still perfectly capable of battling, it seems that Buizel wants to fight Croagunk one on one!"

"Buizel, Water Gun!" yelled Dawn.

"Dodge it and use Poison Sting!" Brock countered and Croagunk jumped over the Water Gun and fired poisonous needles. Since Drifloon wasn't there to blow them away, Buizel was hit by the needles and grimaced in pain.

"Aqua Jet!" Dawn yelled.

"Poison Jab!" Brock countered. Buizel and Croagunk collided. Since Buizel had put his entire body weight into Aqua Jet whereas Croagunk was using only one arm for the Poison Jab, Buizel overpowered Croagunk and knocked him to the ground. Croagunk sat up and smirked at Buizel. Buizel smirked back.

Then Buizel glowed purple and yelped in pain as the side effect of Poison Jab kicked in. Evidently Croagunk had anticipated that this would happen as he was on his feet in no time.

"Brick Break!" Brock called and Croagunk slammed a Brick Break onto Buizel's head, knocking him to the ground.

"Buizel!" cried Dawn.

"Hey Dawn," Harry said, "Has your Buizel ever tried using Water Pulse?"

"No," Dawn wasn't sure why he was bringing that up now, "Why?"

"My Buizel knows it," Harry said simply. Dawn decided to give it a try.

"Buizel, let's try and use Water Pulse!" she called. Buizel stumbled to his feet and slowly formed a blue orb between his paws. The orb grew larger and he hurled it at Croagunk. It wasn't as powerful as Harry's Buizel's Water Pulse but it was still enough to knock Croagunk of his feet. Dawn looked at Harry and smiled, "Thanks."

"No problem but I had no idea if that would actually work," Harry replied. Buizel then fell on one knee. Because of the poison he was reaching his limit.

"Buizel, Sonicboom!" Dawn yelled.

"Poison Jab!" Brock called and once again Croagunk effortlessly destroyed Sonicboom.

"Get in close and use Water Pulse!" Dawn commanded and Buizel lunged forwards, forming Water Pulse as he moved. This one was larger and more powerful than the first. He slammed the orb straight into Croagunk and water burst out of it sending Croagunk flying.

"Croa," Croagunk groaned and heaved himself onto his feet. He would give anything to have the Dry Skin Ability right now. He looked at Buizel who stared back.

Both Pokemon smiled at each other and nodded.

Then Croagunk fainted. At exactly the same moment, Buizel succumbed to the poison.

"Croagunk and Buizel are both unable to battle," said the referee, "However since Drifloon is still capable of battling, Harry and Dawn are the winners!" The crowd cheered. Drifloon raised one arm and waved to them cheerily. Harry smiled and recalled her whilst Dawn and Brock recalled Buizel and Croagunk.

Harry and Dawn were now facing Ash and Paul. Neither of them would mind losing to Ash but they were both determined to defeat his cruel, cold hearted, arrogant partner.

"Luxio, take your position!" Harry called and threw a Poke Ball. Dawn raised an eyebrow at him.

"Take your position?" she asked with a slight smirk.

"Cynthia's got battle dance, you've got spotlight," Harry paused; he hated to admit it but Paul's battle cry was a good one, "Paul's got stand by for battle. I wanted something more interesting than 'go' or 'I choose you'." Dawn shrugged.

"Okay," she said, "Piplup, spotlight!" Her tiny Piplup landed beside Luxio.

"Chimchar, I choose you!" Ash cried; evidently he was still content with that battle cry. Chimchar, now looking refreshed and happy unlike when he had been with Paul, burst out of his Poke Ball. Paul shot Chimchar a contemptuous look before choosing his own Pokemon.

"Elekid, stand by for battle!" The little yellow Pokemon with horns resembling the prongs of a plug appeared. When it saw its partner was Chimchar, it smirked. Chimchar looked back defiantly. Harry took out his pokedex, having never actually studied Elekid despite witnessing Paul use it in training.

" _Elekid, the Electric Pokemon. It spins its arms rapidly to build up electricity and it loves thunderstorms._ "

"Luxio, use Shock Wave on Chimchar!" Harry called and Luxio shot a bolt of electricity at Chimchar.

"Use Flamethrower!" Ash ordered and Chimchar tried to block the attack with a stream of flames, but thanks to Luxio's Rivalry and the fact that he was an evolved Pokemon, the Shock Wave proved too powerful for Flamethrower. Chimchar shrieked in pain as he was shocked by the attack. Paul snorted at how easily Chimchar's Flamethrower had been overwhelmed.

"Elekid, Thunder on Piplup!" he ordered and Elekid rotated its arms very quickly before launching a powerful blast of electricity at Piplup.

"Luxio, protect Piplup!" Harry called and Luxio leapt right in front of Piplup, absorbing the electricity into his own body. The attack was uncomfortable but didn't actually hurt Luxio.

"Piplup use Bubblebeam on Elekid!" called Dawn and Piplup jumped above Luxio before sending a stream of bubbles from his beak down at Elekid.

"Protect!" Paul called and Elekid formed a green barrier around himself to block Bubblebeam.

"Chimchar, use Dig on Luxio!" called Ash and Chimchar dove underground.

"Piplup use Peck on Elekid!" Dawn called. Piplup pointed his body towards Elekid and his beak glowed white.

"Thunder Punch!" Paul ordered and Elekid's fist crackled with electricity. Unsurprisingly, Piplup's Peck was no match for Thunder Punch and he was sent flying. At the same time, Chimchar burst out underneath Luxio, throwing the Electric type backwards.

"Piplup, you okay?" asked Dawn.

"How about you, Luxio?" asked Harry. Luxio and Piplup nodded and picked themselves up.

"Chimchar, use Flame Wheel!" ordered Ash. Harry allowed Chimchar to get close, not wanting to leave Piplup undefended against Elekid, before giving his command.

"Spark!" Luxio didn't have as much momentum as Chimchar but his larger body and Special Ability made up for that. Chimchar was sent sprawling.

"Thunder!" called Paul and Elekid launched the attack at Piplup.

"Intercept it!" Harry shouted and Luxio quickly obeyed, saving Piplup from the powerful Electric attack. However Paul had been expecting Luxio to do that.

"Brick Break!" he ordered and Elekid raised a hand and brought it down on Luxio in a powerful chop, knocking him to the ground.

"Piplup use Bubblebeam on Elekid!" Dawn ordered and Piplup fired multiple bubbles at Elekid before he could attack him. The attack knocked Elekid backwards.

"Luxio Bite!" ordered Harry and Luxio sprang towards Elekid and clamped his jaws shut around his arm, before swinging the smaller Electric type around and hurling him to the ground.

"Char?" Chimchar asked, looking concerned. Elekid just glared at him before looking back at Luxio.

Then Elekid glowed white and evolved. Once the white glow had faded a larger Pokemon with a long tail stood in Elekid's place. Dawn whipped out her pokedex.

" _Electabuzz, the Electric Pokemon and evolved form of Elekid. It appears near power generators, and because it eats electricity it can cause blackouts_."

Luxio smirked as Electabuzz who smirked back.

"Electabuzz, use Brick Break!" Paul ordered and Electabuzz jumped towards Luxio.

"Bite!" Harry called and once again, Luxio caught Electabuzz's hand in his teeth.

"Pathetic," Paul snorted, "Thunder Punch!" Electabuzz swung its left fist which was surrounded by electricity into Luxio's face knocking him off his feet.

"Chimchar use Scratch on Piplup!" Ash called and Chimchar darted towards Piplup and scratched him across the face.

"Peck!" Dawn called and Piplup retaliated by jabbing Chimchar with his beak.

"Luxio, aim Shock Wave at Chimchar!" Harry ordered and Luxio launched a bolt of electricity at Chimchar.

"Dodge it!" Ash shouted and Chimchar jumped away but the electricity arced after him in mid-air and struck him, causing him to scream in pain and surprise, "What!"

"Shock Wave never misses, idiot," Paul informed Ash coldly, "Electabuzz, Thunder on Luxio!" Electabuzz didn't need to whirl his arms now that he had evolved so he launched the attack straight away. Unlike when he'd used it as an Elekid, this Thunder attack was strong enough to push Luxio back and make him snarl in pain.

"Chimchar use Dig on Luxio!" Ash ordered and once again Chimchar dove underground.

"Piplup, Peck on Electabuzz!" Dawn called.

"Thunder Punch!" Paul ordered but Dawn had expected that.

"Spin!" she called and Piplup spun in mid-air. The force of the spin caused his body to shift to the side just a little as Thunder Punch came towards him. The closer Thunder Punch came, the further to the side Piplup's spin took him. It was just enough for him to pass Electabuzz without being hit by the Thunder Punch. Harry raised an eyebrow and even Paul seemed surprised, "Bubblebeam!"

"Pip, lup, lup, lup!" cried Piplup and struck Electabuzz with a Bubblebeam from behind.

"Bite!" ordered Harry and whilst Electabuzz turned angrily towards Piplup, he didn't notice Luxio lunging at him from the other direction. Fortunately for Electabuzz, Chimchar burst out of the ground and shoved Luxio away just before the Bite attack landed. Electabuzz noticed that Chimchar had saved him from Luxio's fangs and reluctantly nodded at him, so subtly that nobody could be sure the nod had actually happened.

"Electabuzz, Thunder on Piplup!" Electabuzz launched the attack and this time Luxio was too far away to shield Piplup from the attack. Piplup screamed in pain and fell to the ground.

"Piplup is unable to battle!" cried the referee and Dawn recalled her Pokemon and congratulated him for fighting hard. Luxio looked angry with himself for not being fast enough to protect his partner.

"Luxio use Spark on Electabuzz!" ordered Harry and Luxio lunged and surrounded himself with electricity but this time the electricity was yellow instead of blue, much like Pikachu's Volt Tackle. The new attack knocked Electabuzz off its feet. Luxio then winced. "Wait was that Volt Tackle?"

"Chimchar use Flame Wheel!" Ash ordered and Chimchar slammed into Luxio inside a wheel of fire.

"Brick Break!" called Paul and Electabuzz smashed a Brick Break onto Luxio's head and knocked him out.

"Luxio is unable to battle," said the referee, "And that means this years winners of the Tag Battle Competition are Ash and Paul!" Harry felt happy for Ash but wished he could have at least defeated Paul's Electabuzz. He went over to Luxio, who groaned and tried to stand up but only made his headache worse. Then Luxio remembered he had lost the battle and looked at the ground in disappointment.

"Don't feel bad, Luxio," Harry said, "You fought well and I didn't know your species could use Volt Tackle."

"It can't," Paul told him coldly as he recalled Electabuzz, "That was Wild Charge."

"Oh," Harry said, "Well what's the difference?" Paul shrugged and didn't answer. Strictly speaking Wild Charge was considered to be weaker than Volt Tackle but like a lot of moves that depended on the Pokémon using it. With Luxio's Rivalry, he could probably draw with Ash's Pikachu in a Volt Tackle and Wild Charge collision. Volt Tackle and Wild Charge were basically the same move.

Dawn went over to Harry. She was smiling as she said, "We make a good team. If Elekid hadn't evolved we would have won."

"Yeah," Harry said, "And besides I got a lot out of this experience; Combee evolved..." he paused for a moment remembering that he needed to talk to Vespiquen about the massacre of her own children, "and Luxio learned Wild Charge... or Volt Tackle," he shrugged, "They seem to be the same; they even look identical."

Later a crowd gathered to watch Ash and Paul receive Soothe Bells for their victory. It was ironic that Ash and Paul had won when they were probably the least well suited team in the entire tournament.

After the tournament, when Harry was sitting with Ash, Dawn and Brock to have dinner and congratulate Ash on his victory, Paul walked by. He took out his Soothe Bell and tossed it carelessly at Ash, who caught it. The two of them glared at each other, then Paul walked away without a word.

"Bastard," Harry muttered as Paul left.

 **I was originally going to have Harry and Dawn win since they are a much better team than Ash and Paul. However I wanted to emphasize that Ash and Paul are much more experienced which makes up for their lack of teamwork. Had Harry and Dawn been a bad team, Ash and Paul would have won much more easily (assuming Harry and Dawn could actually make it to this point if they weren't a good team) and Elekid wouldn't have needed to evolve.**


	17. Travelling with Ash, Dawn and Brock

Harry decided to travel with Ash, Brock and Dawn on the way to Solaceon Town, which was between Hearthome City and Veilstone City. Pastoria City would actually be easier to get too, but during the Tag Battle Competition, Harry had realized that he enjoyed the trio's company.

Harry was still procrastinating about speaking to Vespiquen. As Brock was a Breeder, Harry decided to ask for his advice on the subject while Ash and Dawn were training.

"Brock," Harry said while they watched Piplup create a Whirlpool which Pikachu promptly destroyed with Thunderbolt, "Can I talk to you in private?"

"Of course," Brock said and followed Harry and Riolu to a secluded area.

"I need to talk to Vespiquen about what happened in the Tag Battle Competition," Harry said, "But truthfully, I'm scared of her. She created her children on a whim in the middle of battle, then as good as murdered them in order to heal herself and didn't even glance at their corpses."

Brock was quiet for a moment. He was a Pokemon Breeder but he had only ever encountered one Vespiquen before. That one had been wild and served by fully grown Combee, who had developed minds and personalities of their own. After Harry's Vespiquen's performance in the Tag Battle Competition, Brock had done research on the species to try and understand how Vespiquen was able to create and discard life so callously. It turned out that adult Combee could survive the process of healing Vespiquen but in battle, she only summoned babies for however long the battle lasted.

"The trouble is, when a Vespiquen uses Attack Order, Defend Order or Heal Order, I don't think she sees it as giving birth to a dozen Combee," Brock explained after a moment, "To humans, it seems appalling to use your own babies in battle but it's generally believed that the baby Combee don't have any consciousness or awareness of what's happening around them. Researchers believe that a Vespiquen sees their children as just mindless drones when they're first born."

"Have you ever dealt with a Vespiquen before?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Brock said, "But only once and that Vespiquen was wild. I've never dealt with one in the possession of a trainer. It's actually quite fascinating," Harry scowled at him, "Disturbing of course, but fascinating."

"Even if they are mindless drones, that doesn't give Vespiquen the right to bring them to life and then kill them once they're no longer useful," Harry muttered.

"Maybe not," Brock said, "But remember that after evolving, most Vespiquen spend their entire lives controlling the lives of Combee. Essentially, they are the goddesses of their swarm. There aren't many trainers that use Vespiquen and I don't think that's just because she's so rare. I think most people don't have the guts to deal with a Pokemon that thinks she's a goddess." Harry took out Vespiquen's Poke Ball and looked at it. He hadn't even let her out for training since her evolution.

"Come out, Vespiquen," Harry said and opened the Poke Ball.

The Beehive Pokemon emerged. Having spent the last few days in her Poke Ball, she was looking a bit dejected and hurt. Despite what she'd done to the baby Combee, Harry felt a bit guilty for arguably keeping her imprisoned for nearly a week. He pushed that guilt down.

"Vespiquen, you killed your own children," Harry said simply. Vespiquen tilted her head slightly, "After you used Heal Order, did you even notice the Combee's corpses around you?" Vespiquen hesitated then shrugged, a gesture she would never have been able to do before evolving, "Don't just shrug at me, Vespiquen!" Harry shouted and Vespiquen backed away a little. Her trainer had never yelled at her or any of his Pokemon, except for when he was giving them commands in battle. Even Riolu was slightly surprised. Of course he could sense Harry's emotions but his trainer had never been angry with one of his Pokémon before.

Brock put a hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry took a deep breath before speaking again, "You can't just create life and then destroy it whenever you please!"

"Vespi," Vespiquen buzzed sadly but she still didn't quite understand the problem.

"Vespiquen what you did in the Tag Battle Competition..." Harry paused, "It terrified me. To see you give birth to a dozen children on a whim simply to win the battle, and then drain their lives to restore your own energy… I've never seen anything like it. I never put much thought into the use of Attack Order, Defend Order and Heal Order but… you acted like a tyrant, especially when you used Heal Order." Vespiquen now understood why her trainer was angry with her. Why he was _afraid_ of her.

"Vespiquen," she said and hovered forwards slightly. Harry flinched, thinking she was angry with him for yelling at her. Vespiquen stopped, "Quen," she whimpered. She adored her trainer. She hated seeing him look so afraid of her. As a Combee, she'd always thought she was lucky to have the ability to evolve into Vespiquen one day, but her evolution had given her too much power. She could create life, manipulate it and discard it as she saw fit. It was normal for her species; most Vespiquen relished their power over Combee but Vespiquen remembered what Harry had said to her when they first met.

" _I don't like tyrants._ "

Vespiquen thumped her large abdomen onto the ground and started to cry. The sight of his Pokemon looking so heartbroken was painful. Harry approached her and gently pulled her into a hug.

"You can battle without using a swarm, you know," he said quietly, "You don't need to have power over Combee in order to be strong." Vespiquen was glad her new form had arms because she was able to wrap them around him and return the hug. Brock smiled approvingly.

* * *

On the way to Solaceon Town, Harry trained Vespiquen to use Roost so that she wouldn't have to use Heal Order to restore energy. It was normally a Vespiquen's instinct to drain her swarm's life energy when she was exhausted. For adult Combee, it merely left them tired but, as Vespiquen had demonstrated in Hearthome City, it was fatal for babies. Harry's Vespiquen was disgusted with herself for what she had done in the Tag Battle Tournament and worked hard to learn Roost.

Which involved her taking beatings from other Pokemon.

Vespiquen felt like she deserved it. She pushed herself upright after taking a Flame Wheel from Chimchar, although this was Ash's Chimchar, not Harry's. Harry had confessed to Ash, Dawn and Brock about the methods he'd used to train Buizel and although both Ash and Brock had noted that it was a lot like Paul's methods, they knew that Harry genuinely cared about his Pokemon. Also Harry hadn't used that training method since Paul had made him seriously consider how cruel he was really being to Buizel.

"Alright Vespiquen use Roost," Harry said.

Vespiquen sat her huge abdomen firmly on the ground and focussed. Whilst on the ground, there was no way she could summon Combee grubs as they had to come out from underneath her, but she was fighting the urge to just hover, summon a few babies and then drain their life energy. Vespiquen glowed white and felt a bit better but hadn't restored nearly as much energy as she had done when she used Heal Order.

"Don't worry," Harry tried to reassure her, "You'll get the hang of it. As long as your butt's on the ground, you don't need to worry about summoning baby Combee by accident."

"Vespiquen," Vespiquen nodded. Harry smiled at her.

"You've been working hard, Vespiquen," he said, "Hey Brock, is lunch ready?"

"Two more minutes!" Brock called back. Harry, Ash and Dawn let out their other Pokemon. All of Brock's Pokemon were already waiting for their meal.

"Chimchar," said Harry's Chimchar, smiling at Ash's Chimchar. The two of them had taken a liking to each other almost immediately. It wasn't surprising. After all, Ash's Chimchar was male and Harry's Chimchar was female. At the moment though, they just seemed to be friends. Harry's Chimchar then hopped onto her trainer's shoulder, "Char har?"

"Yes Chimchar, I bought you loads of bananas," Harry said, patting her head fondly. He glanced at Ash who was offering Pikachu a bottle of ketchup. Harry pulled a face. He hated ketchup but Pikachu loved it.

"Remember to wait until the meal's ready, Pikachu," Ash said. Pikachu nodded but held onto the ketchup until Brock finished cooking. However, Pikachu did share it with the other Pokemon if they asked for it.

* * *

In a small village close to Solaceon Town, the group met Dawn's friend Zoey. Zoey and Harry barely knew each other as Zoey was Dawn's friend more than Ash or Brock's and had only met Harry very briefly after the Hearthome City Pokemon Contest. While Brock went to buy some more supplies, Harry and Ash had a practice battle while Dawn and Zoey practiced for their next contests. There were too small battlefields behind the Pokemon Center which they were using for their training.

"Aipom, Focus Punch!" Ash ordered.

"Riolu, Force Palm!" ordered Harry. The fist on Aipom's tail glowed white and collided with Riolu's palm just before the now familiar yellow light exploded out of the Emanation Pokemon's hand. An explosion sent both Pokemon flying backwards.

"Buizel, Aqua Jet!" called Dawn and Buizel surrounded himself with water and shot towards Zoey's Glameow.

"Shadow Claw!" ordered Zoey and Glameow's paw became surrounded by black energy which grew far beyond the natural length of her claws. Rather than intercept Buizel directly however, Glameow leapt over the attack, sweeping her claws along Buizel's back. Buizel winced but Glameow's intention wasn't to hurt him; she was using the water from his Aqua Jet to create sparkles around her claws, before slashing straight through the water Buizel left behind in order to create sparkles around her whole body.

The sparkles caught Aipom's attention and distracted her for a moment while she was charging up another Focus Punch. Riolu was in the middle of summoning his still unmastered Aura Sphere at the time, but Aipom didn't notice until the attack hit her. The energy from her Focus Punch faded away as she was knocked to the ground.

"Aipom, why were you looking over there?" Ash called, as Aipom picked herself up, rubbing her head. Aipom tore her eyes away from the sparkling Glameow and looked back at Riolu.

"Aipom seems a little distracted," Harry noted.

"Buizel, you're power is great!" Dawn called and Buizel smiled but then saw that his trainer wasn't quite satisfied, "But Glameow was able to use that power to make it look beautiful. In a contest you can't just rely on power, you need to show beauty, style and grace too."

"Bui," Buizel nodded but then glanced at Riolu who was being pummelled by a Swift attack.

"I think Buizel's more interested in Ash and Harry's training than ours," Zoey told Dawn.

"Riolu, let's try another Aura Sphere!" Harry called. Riolu formed a blue sphere in between his hands. He was now able to create an Aura Sphere easily, but still had not mastered locking the attack onto an opponent's Aura to ensure it couldn't be dodged.

"Double Team!" called Ash and Aipom split into a dozen copies. Aura Sphere passed through one of the copies and exploded on the ground behind it.

"Riolu!" Riolu said, looking frustrated.

"It's alright, Riolu," Harry assured him, "Just keep practicing and soon your opponents won't be able to dodge it."

"Focus Punch!" called Ash and Aipom's remaining copies all lunged at Riolu with their tail fists glowing.

"Find it and block it!" Harry ordered. Riolu used Aura to detect the real Aipom, turned around and blocked her Focus Punch with his bare hands while the other copies passed through him. "Looking good, Riolu!" Harry called and Riolu grinned before releasing Aipom's fist.

"Buizel, over here!" Dawn called as Buizel watched approvingly as Riolu blocked Aipom's fist with his bare hands. Buizel tried to focus on his trainer.

"Hey guys, just hold on for a moment!" Zoey called. Harry and Ash glanced over at her. Dawn had a questioning look. Zoey directed her question at her, "Have you ever considered trading Pokemon?"

"No," Dawn said, "Why?"

"Well it's obvious that Buizel likes battles," Zoey said, "And Aipom likes contests," she nodded at Aipom, "So why don't you trade them to each other?" Ash and Dawn hesitated.

"I don't know," Ash said uncertainly, "I've had Aipom ever since I finished the Battle Frontier. And Dawn's put a lot of effort into Buizel's training."

"Yes but Buizel doesn't seem interested in that kind of training," Zoey pointed out, "It was watching Riolu when it blocked that Focus Punch."

"When _he_ blocked that Focus Punch," Harry corrected her.

"Sorry," Zoey said before looking at Ash, "Ash, remember when you used Aipom in the Jubilive City Pokemon Contest?" Harry was surprised. When he saw first Dawn on television it had only been a brief glimpse in the last round, so he hadn't known Ash had entered the contest too.

"Yeah," Ash nodded.

"Quite simply, I'm saying that Aipom seems better suited to Dawn," Zoey said, before looking at Dawn, "while Buizel seems better suited to Ash."

"Hey guys!" called Brock, "Got the supplies. Everyone ready for a picnic?" He noticed the thoughtful atmosphere, "What happened?"

"Zoey suggested Ash and Dawn trade Aipom and Buizel," Harry informed him. Ash was holding Aipom in his arms, while the Long Tail Pokemon smiled up at him. Buizel wasn't one for hugs but he had a fond expression as he looked at Dawn.

"How about we have our picnic while you guys think about it," Brock suggested. Dawn and Ash looked up, having only vaguely registered his presence until he made the suggestion.

"Okay, what do you say?" Ash asked glancing at Dawn. She nodded. There was a picnic table nearby for the humans while the Pokemon all gathered in the two small battlefields that Harry, Dawn, Ash and Zoey had been practicing on.

When they finished, Ash and Dawn still hadn't decided.

"You guys are still going to be travelling with each other," Harry pointed out, "You'll still see Aipom and Buizel every day." He was briefly reminded that he'd gone for nearly a week without seeing Vespiquen due to his reluctance to let her out of her Poke Ball but pushed that away. It wasn't relevant now. Harry and Vespiquen had reconciled and Harry let the Beehive Pokemon out of her Poke Ball regularly, like his other Pokemon.

"Yeah, but it's just… not easy to go through with it," mumbled Dawn.

"Hey I've got an idea," said Ash, "How about I team up with Buizel against Harry and you team up with Aipom against Zoey."

"Good idea," said Brock, "You're seeing if you're compatible with each other."

"Right," Ash nodded, "What do you say, Dawn?"

"Okay," Dawn agreed. The group recalled most of their Pokemon so they had more space on the two battlefields. Aipom went over to Dawn, while Buizel went over to Ash. Harry decided to try something he hadn't done before.

"Buizel, take your position!" he called. Ash was surprised. Of course he knew Harry had Buizel, having seen the other Sea Weasel Pokemon regularly since they left Hearthome City, but Harry had never used him to battle Dawn's Buizel before. Harry's Buizel was more relaxed and easy-going that Dawn's Buizel.

"Bui?" said Dawn's Buizel. Harry's Buizel grinned cheerfully at him. Meanwhile, Zoey had sent out Glameow once again to face off against Aipom.

"Aipom, Swift!" called Dawn and Aipom shot stars from her tail. Instead of hitting Glameow directly, the stars circled around before shooting at Glameow, who was trapped in the middle of the circle of stars, and pummelling her.

"Buizel, Aqua Jet!" Harry and Ash shouted at the same time. The two Buizel collided and the force of the collision knocked them both backwards.

"Now Sonicboom!" called Ash and Dawn's Buizel spun around and the shock wave from his twin tails flew into Harry's Buizel's chest, knocking him off his feet.

"Aipom, Focus Punch!" called Dawn.

"Glameow, catch it with your tail!" called Zoey and Glameow turned at Aipom charged up with Focus Punch. Glameow positioned her spring like tail so that the Focus Punch went through the curls, before clenching the curls shut and stopping the Focus Punch, "Throw it." Glameow spun and hurled Aipom backwards. Aipom back-flipped gracefully and landed on her tail, completely unharmed.

"Water Pulse!" called Ash and Buizel hurled the orb of energy at Harry's Buizel.

"Show them how to really use Water Pulse!" Harry called and Buizel slammed his Water Pulse onto the ground, creating a wave. The wave washed over Dawn's Buizel's Water Pulse which only served to add more power to it, knocking the other Sea Weasel Pokemon off his feet. When Buizel got up he had a dazed look in his eyes.

"Buizel?" asked Ash. Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Looks like Harry's Buizel's Water Pulse confused Dawn's Buizel," Brock noted.

"I didn't know Water Pulse could do that," said Harry.

"It rarely happens," Brock replied, "I think that since your Buizel's Water Pulse got a boost from Dawn's Buizel's Water Pulse, it was essentially like being hit with two Water Pulses at once, giving it twice the chance of causing confusion."

"Well you learn something new every day," Harry said while Dawn's Buizel started banging himself on the head with his fists.

"Buizel, snap out of it!" shouted Ash.

Meanwhile Aipom had just used Swift to create a huge star shaped barrier to block Glameow's Shock Wave attack. Although the Shock Wave blew the barrier apart, it only created more stars which fell all around Dawn and Zoey's battlefield. Aipom was beaming, having the time of her life.

"Brick Break!" Harry called. Dawn's Buizel already had a headache from banging himself on the head and it got worse when he felt his opponents paw slam onto his skull. However, it also knocked some sense into him.

"Bui! Bui, Bui," he shook off the effects of confusion and rubbed his head before glaring at his opponent. Harry's Buizel didn't take battling as seriously as Dawn's Buizel – Harry had stopped asking Buizel to take Luxio's Shock Wave whilst wet because that was too cruel to use on a Pokemon who only battled for fun – but he was still winning and Brick Break was a move that Dawn's Buizel didn't know.

"Okay Buizel, I've got an idea, but you're going to need a bit of Dawn's contest training," Ash called, "Use Water Pulse and then surround it with a spinning Aqua Jet!" Buizel formed the orb but rather than throwing it or slamming it into the ground, he instead surrounded himself with water which then closed over the Water Pulse. The Water Pulse and Aqua Jet combination sent Harry's Buizel flying off the battlefield and into a tree, "That was great! You see, Buizel. Contest training can be useful in battles too."

"Bui," Buizel nodded and folded his arms while Harry recalled his Buizel.

"Nice work, Buizel," he said, "I know you don't take battling as seriously as Ash's Buizel so there's no shame in losing to him."

"Uh, he's not my Buizel," Ash pointed out. Harry looked up. He hadn't even realized he just said "Ash's Buizel" instead of "Dawn's Buizel". Harry then smiled.

"Yet," he replied and they turned to watch the end of Dawn's battle with Zoey.

"Aipom, use Focus Punch!" called Dawn and Aipom having just used Double Team to confuse Glameow who, unlike Riolu, was unable to distinguish the real one from the copies, charged up a Focus Punch and smashed it into Glameow. Glameow hit the ground hard.

"Glameow!" cried Zoey. Glameow didn't get back up so Zoey recalled her, "Well done Dawn. Aipom did really well too, especially when showing off its Swift attack."

"I think its clear that Buizel suits Ash and Aipom suits Dawn," Brock said, "But the training they received from you guys would be useful in the future too."

"Right," Ash nodded then looked at Dawn, "What do you think, Dawn?"

"Okay," Dawn decided, "Let's do the trade."

* * *

"Why not just give each other the Poke Balls?" asked Harry as Ash and Dawn stood in front of a trade machine in the Pokemon Center.

"If we did that it wouldn't feel… official," Ash explained, "You know, it wouldn't seem like it's been done properly. I've only ever traded one of my Pokemon before, and after I got Raticate I decided to trade it again so that I could get Butterfree back..." he paused sadly as he remembered the day he'd released his Butterfree. It was the only one of his Pokémon he'd never seen again after releasing it into the wild. Butterfree's lifespan was shorter than most Pokémon so it might be dead by now, "but I think people feel more closure by using these machines."

"Oh I see," Harry nodded.

"Can I pull the lever?" asked Dawn.

"Go ahead," Ash said and Dawn pulled the lever in the middle of the machine. Aipom and Buizel's Poke Balls flashed white and then disappeared. On a screen above the machines lever, Aipom and Buizel's sillouettes passed each other. Their Poke Balls appeared on opposite sides of the machine.

"And that's it," Brock said, "Ash is now officially Buizel's trainer and Dawn is officially Aipom's trainer."

 **As implied by Ash's memory about Butterfree, he actually did go back for his released Pidgeot after Johto.**


	18. Angry Spirit

It was evening and Ash and Dawn were training with Buizel and Aipom while Harry, Brock, Riolu and Pikachu watched.

"Buizel, Sonicboom!" ordered Ash and Buizel shot the shockwave from his twin tails.

"Double Team!" ordered Dawn and Aipom split into a dozen copies. The Sonicboom passed through one of the copies and continued towards a stone shrine standing nearby. The Sonicboom smashed the already crumbling shrine, which looked like it had been there for centuries.

"Uh oh," Ash said. The group approached the shrine. Suddenly Riolu shivered.

"Riolu?" Harry asked, "What's wrong?" There was a chill in the air. Everyone felt the chill but Riolu also felt anger which was frightening him. "Riolu are you okay?" Harry was worried. Riolu was a brave Pokemon but right now he was shaking with fear. Despite this however, Riolu moved back towards the shrine as he sensed that there was also loneliness radiating from it.

"Look!" said Ash, pointing to a strange stone with a crack and odd markings on it, half buried in the rubble. Unlike the shrine which had encased it, the stone seemed undamaged.

"Toooomb!" said a ghostly voice which seemed to be coming from the stone. Suddenly it rose into the air. A shape emerged from the crack in the stone. It seemed to be made out of fog and its face was set in the middle and contained green, crescent eyes with swirls for pupils that were connected to its jagged mouth. Everyone stepped back. Even Brock had never seen this Pokemon before. Shakily, Dawn withdrew her Pokedex.

" _Spiritomb, the Forbidden Pokemon. It was created by 108 souls and sealed in an Odd Keystone for its misdeeds many centuries ago._ "

Spiritomb appraised them all with a rather evil looking smile. Then the smile faded as it looked at Pikachu. Its eyes narrowed. It looked furious. Without warning, it formed a ball of spinning black rings in front of its mouth and then fired the rings in a beam towards Pikachu.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu and dodged the Dark Pulse.

"Hey what was that for!" Ash yelled.

"Spiritomb!" boomed Spiritomb and aimed another Dark Pulse at Pikachu who once again dodged it.

"Oi!" Harry yelled, "What have you got against Pikachu?" Spiritomb glared at him, then started launching a barrage of Shadow Balls at Pikachu, "Alright, Riolu use Copycat!"

"Riolu" cried Riolu and trying to ignore the waves of anger and hatred radiating off Spiritomb, he recalled its use of Shadow Ball and mimicked it, aiming a Shadow Ball of his own. Spiritomb boomed but seemed more irritated than hurt. It turned towards its attacker.

"Spirit!" it roared. It seemed to be saying something along the lines of "Stay out of this!" before directing its attention back towards Pikachu.

"Buizel, Aqua Jet!" ordered Ash and Buizel shot towards Spiritomb and slammed into it with Aqua Jet, knocking it backwards. That only seemed to make Spiritomb angrier. It glared as Pikachu, Riolu and Buizel all stepped between it and the four trainers. It was only interested in Pikachu, but if Buizel and Riolu were going to get in the way, they were in for a world of pain.

"I think we should go," Brock said. Spiritomb was looking almost murderous now. It had its eyes fixed on Pikachu with a hatred that the Mouse Pokemon had never had directed at him before. Pikachu didn't understand why Spiritomb was glaring at him with such loathing.

"Spiritomb!" yelled Spiritomb and sent another barrage of Shadow Balls. Most of them were directed at Pikachu but Spiritomb now seemed to be angry at everyone because several headed for Riolu and Buizel and a few even went for the humans. Spiritomb wasn't really aiming but everyone agreed it was time to leave.

"Run!" cried Ash and they fled. Spiritomb chased them but fortunately it wasn't very fast, presumably because of its keystone. But what it lacked in speed, it made up for in persistence. It continued chasing the group until they were exhausted. Spiritomb wasn't even out of breath, although then again it couldn't breathe anyway.

After a long chase (Harry had considered using his bike but that would mean leaving his friends behind) the exhausted group arrived at the edge of a tiny village. Well _most_ of them were exhausted. Riolu was barely out of breath but he turned back when he realized the others were too tired to follow him.

"That thing is relentless!" cried Harry.

"Help!" screamed Dawn to the village, "A crazy Pokemon is attacking us!" A few villagers looked out of the window sleepily, annoyed at being woken in the middle of the night. When they saw Spiritomb however, they all slammed their windows shut and locked them.

"Cowards," Harry muttered.

"Looks like we're gonna have to fight," Ash said. He turned around to face the Spiritomb. Spiritomb sneered at him then the pattern on its keystone turned purple and it summoned an Ominous Wind which was stronger than Harry's Drifloon's Ominous Wind. The attack blew Ash off his feet.

"Pika Pi!" cried Pikachu and leapt in front of Spiritomb, his cheeks sparking angrily. Spiritomb glared hatefully at Pikachu, "Pikachu. Pika. Pika! Kachu!" Spiritomb angrily launched another Shadow Ball. Pikachu jumped aside and kept trying to reason with the furious spirit. Spiritomb still looked angry, but it was listening. After Pikachu managed to persuade it to at least explain why it was attacking them, it responded.

"Spiritomb," it said, "Spiri, Spiritomb, tomb."

"Pika," Pikachu said and looked at Spiritomb with a sympathetic expression. Spiritomb looked annoyed by Pikachu's look.

"Spiritomb," Harry said, cautiously approaching. Once again, Spiritomb unleashed an Ominous Wind which blew Harry off his feet. Spiritomb hadn't even glanced at Harry. It wanted to focus entirely on Pikachu.

"Ya can't reason with a Spiritomb, kids!" said a voice. An old lady emerged from one of the houses of the village they had just arrived at. Evidently, she was the only villager brave enough to do so, "It's angry and it wants revenge! I was always afraid this would happen."

"What does it want revenge for though?" asked Ash. Before the lady could reply, Spiritomb blasted Pikachu with Dark Pulse. Clearly it had had enough of negotiation, "Pikachu!"

"Spiritomb," Spiritomb snarled and formed an orb of yellow energy in front of its jagged mouth. The energy extended into a Hyper Beam. Ash ran forwards grabbed Pikachu and tried to roll out of harms way but the blast still sent him and Pikachu slamming into the wall of one of the village huts.

"Distract that thing!" ordered the old lady, "It won't stop attacking until that Pikachu is dead!"

"Riolu, Hidden Power!" Harry yelled. Riolu obeyed but the Psychic type Hidden Power did no damage at all to the Dark type. Spiritomb blasted him with Shadow Ball, knocking him out. "Riolu! Alright Luxio, take your position!" The Spark Pokemon appeared and bared his teeth threateningly at Spiritomb, "Luxio, I need you to hold off that Spiritomb as long as you can. And you'll have to improvise and fight without me. I'm sorry." His Pokemon just nodded - he'd fought on his own when he was a wild Pokémon anyway - and started fighting Spiritomb. Attract didn't work so Luxio had to rely on his other moves. Despite Rivalry however, Spiritomb was holding his own.

"Five hundred years ago an Aura Guardian with a Pikachu sealed Spiritomb in a keystone," explained the old woman as quickly as possible while Luxio distracted Spiritomb. The battle wasn't quiet but the woman had a loud voice, "Spiritomb was causing trouble in the area so the Guardian imprisoned it to help the people and Pokemon who lived here."

"What kind of trouble?" Harry asked.

"The legend doesn't specify," admitted the old woman, "But it was enough to make the villagers want to get rid of it."

"If the legend doesn't specify what kind of trouble it was causing, how do you know it wasn't just messing around?" Harry asked. The old woman paused.

"I don't," he admitted. Harry thought back to what Cynthia had told him about Pokemon's different personalities.

"Being imprisoned for five hundred years is bound to make anyone angry," Harry said, "Maybe Spiritomb's just misunderstood. Luxio, stop fighting!" Luxio jumped away from Spiritomb, gasping for breath. Spiritomb finally looked worn out but he was still dangerous. Luxio looked at his trainer in confusion. Harry glanced back at Ash, "Ash could a borrow one of your Soothe Bells?"

"Sure," Ash said, "Actually you can keep it," he tossed the Soothe Bell to Harry. Harry stepped up beside Luxio, ringing the bell which lived up to its name of Soothe Bell as it seemed to keep Spiritomb calm. Despite this, Harry's heart was thumping in his chest. This was more terrifying than watching his Vespiquen murder her children. At least she hadn't been angry and hate filled. She was simply following her species instinct.

Harry wondered if he was wrong about Spiritomb and if his species instinct was to just cause as much distruction as possible.

"Spiritomb, this woman's just told me what happened to you five hundred years ago," he said, still ringing the Soothe Bell gently, "You were sealed away because you caused a lot of trouble, weren't you. Tell me; were you actually trying to hurt people and Pokemon?" He remembered that Spiritomb had yelled at Riolu when he attacked him with Copycat earlier but it was only after Buizel's Aqua Jet hit him that he got angry enough to attack the whole group.

"Spiritomb," Spiritomb said softly as he shook his head. Well actually, his entire gaseous body _was_ the head so he shook the whole body, including the keystone his body protruded from.

"Things have changed a lot in the last five hundred years," Harry said, "And the Aura Guardian and Pikachu who sealed you away have been dead for centuries. Ash's Pikachu has done nothing to you." Spiritomb was silent for a long time. Everyone waited for his response.

Finally Spiritomb nodded, just once. Everyone let out a breath they didn't know they were holding.

"You've missed a lot," Harry said, "If you like, you could travel with me and I can show you how things have changed."

"Spirit, Spiritomb?" Spiritomb asked. Harry wasn't quite sure what he said but he got the jist of it.

"Are you wondering whether you're allowed to cause mischief?" Harry asked and Spiritomb nodded. Harry glanced at Riolu and braced himself. Riolu knew what he was asking him to do and slammed a Brick Break onto his trainer's head. Harry had a feeling that when Riolu evolved, his Brick Break might be strong enough to give him a concussion. Spiritomb laughed. It sounded rather evil but Harry assumed that Spiritomb had no control over what his laugh sounded like.

Harry rubbed his head while Riolu smirked, before turning back to Spiritomb, "Does that answer your question?" Spiritomb nodded and smiled. It was supposed to be a warm smile but was still rather frightening. Harry could see why shallow people, who didn't bother to look past appearances, would be afraid of this creature.

Harry reached for a Poke Ball, then paused and looked at Spiritomb's keystone.

"Spiritomb," he said slowly, "In today's world, Pokemon often stay in these little balls." He showed Spiritomb a Poke Ball, "I won't force you to stay inside one but all Pokemon have a Poke Ball, even if some don't stay inside it." Spiritomb looked at the Poke Ball silently.

"Spirit," he said. Harry nodded.

"Okay," he said, "You can travel outside the Poke Ball until you feel ready to go inside one. If you ever feel ready to do so." Spiritomb nodded and gave his evil, warm smile again, "Welcome to the team." Harry said and put his hand on Spiritomb's keystone, which he saw as the equivalent of shaking the Forbidden Pokemon's non-existant hand.

"Well that was most impressive, young man," said the old woman, "Perhaps the ancient citizens of the village did judge Spiritomb too soon. I thought I'd grown too old to learn anything but ya have proved me wrong."

"Thanks," Harry said.

"You know," Brock said, "If Spiritomb's going to be a member of your team that means that you're going to have so send one of your Pokemon back home."

"Oh yeah," Harry said, "Doesn't a Poke Ball do that automatically?" He realized how stupid that sounded since Spiritomb wasn't officially caught, "Oh yeah, Spiritomb's not in a Poke Ball. Well I'll have to send someone to grandpa's lab." He already knew who he was going to send but he wanted to break it to Luxio gently so he didn't think he was just discarding him.

"Grandpa's lab?" asked Dawn, "Wait, you're not talking about Professor Rowan are you?"

"Yep," Harry said innocently, "Didn't I mention I'm his grandson?"

"No!" Ash, Dawn and Brock all said at the same time.


	19. Problems with Spiritomb

Luxio wasn't upset about going to Professor Rowan's lab. Despite Luxio's absence, Spiritomb had not officially been captured and instead followed the group around. It had been three days since he had agreed to join Harry's team but during that time he had been driving everyone mad, including his trainer.

"Aah!" Ash yelled when he woke up one morning to see Spiritomb right in front of him. For the last three days, Spiritomb had been scaring the pants off everyone. At first it had been amusing but Spiritomb was starting to wear on everyones nerves. Harry was beginning to wonder if the people five centuries ago had really been scared of Spiritomb, or if they just sealed him away out of sheer irritation.

"Spiritomb, back off," Harry said tiredly. Spiritomb chuckled but obeyed, "Look, I know you like to fool around, but you can't do it _all the time._ "

"Spirit," said Spiritomb and floated away still chuckling. Ash's yell had woken everyone up. Pikachu had almost launched a Thunderbolt in defence of his trainer before he realized it was only Spiritomb messing around.

"Harry, you've got to get Spiritomb under control," Dawn said, looking exhausted. Normally she didn't like her male companions to see her until she felt she looked presentable but she was too annoyed to worry about her appearance right now.

"I'm trying," Harry protested.

"Maybe Spiritomb's just restless," said Brock, "It hasn't had much to do for the last five hundred years."

"Hey, how about you and Spiritomb face me and Pikachu in a battle?" Ash suggested.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to use Pikachu?" Brock cautioned.

"Hey, Spiritomb knows Pikachu's not interested in sealing it away again," Ash said.

"Well it might calm Spiritomb down a bit," Harry said and shrugged, "Okay."

Ash and Harry faced each other with Pikachu and Spiritomb between them. Pikachu smiled, somewhat nervously at Spiritomb. The Forbidden Pokemon was expressionless.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash ordered and Pikachu launched a powerful blast of electricity at Spiritomb.

"Dark Pulse!" Harry ordered and Spiritomb fired a beam of black rings. The two attacks met in mid-air and created an explosion, "Now use Ominous Wind!" Spiritomb summoned a gust of dark wind which blew over Pikachu. The Mouse Pokemon dug in his heels to stop himself from being blown backwards.

"Use Thunder!" Ash ordered again and Pikachu launched a more powerful electrical blast. This time the attack hit Spiritomb and he let at an echoing wail of pain.

"Spiritomb, Shadow Ball!" Harry ordered and Spiritomb launched one Shadow Ball, then another, then another. Pikachu dodged them all, even using one Shadow Ball to propel himself into the air above Spiritomb.

"Use Iron Tail!" Ash called and Pikachu somersaulted and slammed his steel tail into Spiritomb.

Now Spiritomb was getting angry. It was too much like the time he had been sealed away all those centuries ago. Only Riolu picked up on Spiritomb's swiftly rising anger.

"Riolu!" he warned. Harry glanced at him but then, without waiting for a command, Spiritomb blasted Pikachu with Shadow Ball, this time hitting the Electric type and throwing him backwards.

"Whoa, Spiritomb, remember we're not trying to imprison you!" Harry called. Spiritomb glanced back at him and struggled to control his temper.

"Pikachu, Volt Tackle!" Ash called and Pikachu charged, surrounding himself with electricity.

This was exactly what the Aura Guardian's Pikachu had done right before Spiritomb was imprisoned. Pikachu rammed into Spiritomb and all of Spiritomb's instincts screamed at him to blast the little yellow rat as far away from him as possible. Preferably into the afterlife.

"Tomb!" screamed Spiritomb and before Pikachu had a chance to back off, the Forbidden Pokemon launched a huge Dark Pulse which sent Pikachu flying.

"Pikachu!" cried Ash.

"Spiritomb, wait!" Harry shouted desperately but Spiritomb fired a Shadow Ball at Pikachu who was already on the edge of unconsciousness. Although Pikachu was now knocked out and completely defenceless, Spiritomb still wasn't satisfied. He formed a Hyper Beam, intending to blast Pikachu into the afterlife. In his anger, Spiritomb had become convinced that this was the same Pikachu who had imprisoned him all those centuries ago.

Harry rang his Soothe Bell and Spiritomb paused. Piplup and Riolu ran between him and Pikachu, ready to defend their unconscious friend. Spiritomb still had Hyper Beam's orb in front of his mouth but it had not yet extended into a beam, although he couldn't hold back that much energy for long.

"Piplup, Piplup!" cried Piplup.

"Rio, Rio!" Riolu added.

"Spiritomb it's over!" Harry yelled, "Pikachu's beaten! You won!" Spiritomb hesitated, then turned upwards and fired Hyper Beam harmlessly into the air, letting out the energy without using it destructively. Spiritomb couldn't do much whilst he was recharging from Hyper Beam which gave him enough time to clear his mind. He looked at Pikachu who was now in Ash's arms. The teenager was hugging Pikachu protectively and watching Spiritomb warily. Harry approached Spiritomb. The Forbidden Pokemon looked at him.

"Tomb," he said quietly.

"Harry," said Dawn cautiously, "Maybe we should've sealed Spiritomb away again."

Harry looked at Spiritomb. The Forbidden Pokemon had been causing problems for all of them and had nearly killed Pikachu just now. But Harry didn't want Spiritomb to be trapped in his keystone again. It could be another five hundred years or longer before anyone released him. Spiritomb wasn't a bad Pokémon. He had a violent streak and a tendency to scare people around him but he wasn't evil. He didn't deserve to be imprisoned again, unless it was in a Poke Ball that he could break out of whenever he wanted.

"No," Harry said, "That's not the answer." He sighed. "I have to leave."

"What?" Dawn asked sounding shocked. Ash and Brock remained silent.

"Spiritomb's too unpredictable," Harry said, "He's my Pokemon so I need to keep him under control."

"Are you really ten years old?" asked Brock.

"You have to grow quickly on a Pokemon journey," Harry said then looked at Spiritomb. Ash realized he hadn't been this mature back when he was ten, "Spiritomb, if you're going to keep causing problems for my friends, then we can't stay with them. Especially if you're out for Pikachu's blood."

"Spiritomb," said Spiritomb and glanced around guiltily.

"Until I get Spiritomb under control, I can't travel with you," Harry said to his friends sadly, "It's best for everyone if I leave."

"We'll miss you," Dawn said sadly.

"Hey," Harry said, trying to lighten the mood, "I'm not leaving permanently. You'll see me at the Pokemon League if not before. I assume all three of you will be there?"

"Of course," said Brock, "Dawn and I will be there to support you and Ash." Dawn nodded and gave Harry a hug. Harry hugged her back, awkwardly then turned to Ash and Brock and held out his hand. The fifteen year old and the twenty year old took turns to shake it.

"Come on Riolu, Spiritomb," Harry said and waved to his friends. Spiritomb looked back, feeling terrible. He looked at Pikachu who was still unconscious in Ash's arms.

"Tomb," Spiritomb said mournfully, before following Harry and Riolu.


	20. Saving Spiritomb

**I was going to leave Harry's physical appearance up to your imagination, but since QUEENSPELLER67 asked, I'll tell you that he looks like Lucas from the Diamond, Pearl and Platinum games. Same outfit too. I'm not sure what outfit to give him in other regions since fashion isn't something I'm interested in. I don't think Harry's physical appearance is really relevant to the story but I hope this satisfies you.**

After leaving Dawn, Brock and Ash, Harry decided to head towards Pastoria City instead. According his map, he didn't have to go all the way back to Hearthome City and could instead cut across the countryside which would bring him to the edge of Pastoria City's Great Marsh. From there, he could just go around the Marsh until he reached the city.

Spiritomb had been unusually quiet, still feeling guilty. Riolu and Harry's other Pokemon were also rather upset and a bit angry with him. One night, Spiritomb decided it was best to leave just as Harry had left his friends. While Harry was asleep, Spiritomb floated away.

"Ri! Riolu!" cried Riolu, shaking Harry just as the sun was starting to rise. Harry sat up tiredly, "Riolu!" Riolu gestured around. Spiritomb still didn't have a Poke Ball of his own, so it was clear that he had left.

"Maybe it's for the best," Harry muttered, "Spiritomb will be okay; he's immortal." Riolu sat down beside him. They were silent for a while. Then they got up, Harry packed up his things, and they left.

"Tomb!" Spiritomb's ghostly wail echoed through the area. Harry and Riolu heard it. They glanced at each other. Spiritomb may not be able to die, but he could still get captured by cruel people and he could still feel pain. Harry and Riolu ran back towards where the noise was coming from.

Spiritomb's attackers were Paul and his Electabuzz. A Poke Ball was shaking. Fortunately, Spiritomb managed to force his way out although he was clearly in pain. Paul raised an eyebrow, looking impressed. Electabuzz prepared for another attack.

"Oi!" Harry roared, "Knock it off!"

"Stay out of this, kid," snarled Paul, "That Spiritomb is mine!"

"No, Spiritomb's my Pokemon!" Harry yelled.

"Then why did my Poke Ball work on it?" asked Paul.

"Because I didn't force Spiritomb to go in a Poke Ball," Harry said.

"Which means it's technically still a wild Pokemon," Paul said coldly, "You should have captured it properly while you had the chance. Electabuzz, Thunder Punch!" Electabuzz lunged at Spiritomb.

"Riolu, help Spiritomb! Force Palm!" Riolu jumped between Electabuzz and Spiritomb and thrust his Force Palm into Electabuzz's incoming Thunder Punch. The blast knocked them both backwards.

"That Spiritomb is a very rare and powerful Pokemon!" Paul snarled, "It's mine!"

"Spiritomb is my Pokemon!" Harry protested, "I asked him to travel with me and he agreed. You can't steal him from me!"

"It's not stealing if it's not been captured," Paul said. Spiritomb however floated back to Harry's side. He glared at Paul.

"Spirit, Spiritomb!" he boomed.

"Spiritomb doesn't want to go with you," Harry said.

"I'm not giving it a choice," Paul said. Harry clenched his fists. He absolutely hated this guy. Paul was Ash's rival more than his, but for Spiritomb's sake, Harry had to defeat Paul so that he'd leave the Forbidden Pokemon alone.

"One on one battle," Harry said, "The winner keeps Spiritomb." Spiritomb glared at Harry. He wasn't a trophy and Harry realized he had just spoken as though he was, "Sorry Spiritomb. I know you're not a trophy but Paul's not going to back off unless I beat him. I'll do whatever it takes to keep you, okay?" Spiritomb nodded and floated backwards. Paul's face was expressionless.

"That Spiritomb put up a decent fight," he said, "So return, Electabuzz." Electabuzz disappeared into his Poke Ball, "Torterra stand by for battle!" Paul's huge Starter Pokemon emerged. This was bad. Torterra had far more experience in battle than any of Harry's Pokemon. Harry remembered how the Grass and Ground type had brought Cynthia's Garchomp to her knees and defeated a Carnivine and an Ice Beam using Porygon easily. He was in trouble but for Spiritomb's sake he _had_ to win this battle.

"Vespiquen, take your position!" The Beehive Pokemon emerged. Paul just smirked.

"Stone Edge," he said lazily. Torterra formed hard stones which spun rapidly around its body before shooting towards Vespiquen at astonishing speed. Vespiquen crashed painfully to the ground and struggled to rise.

In only one move, Torterra had almost knocked her out.

"Vespiquen, Roost!" Harry called and Vespiquen planted her abdomen on the ground and used her now perfected Roost. Paul smirked.

"Earthquake!" he ordered and Torterra stomped hard on the ground, causing the battlefield to shake violently. Since Vespiquen was on the ground, Earthquake could affect her as long as she was using Roost. "Hyper Beam!" Torterra opened his mouth and fired a devastating Hyper Beam.

"Dodge it then Roost again!" ordered Harry and Vespiquen barely avoided the massive beam and healed once more, not having to worry about Earthquake whilst Torterra was recharging, "Bug Buzz!" Vespiquen sent red sound waves shooting towards Torterra who grunted in discomfort.

"Leech Seed!" Paul ordered and Torterra fired a Leech Seed from somewhere inside the large tree on its back. Vespiquen buzzed furiously as the Leech Seed began sucking her energy.

"Roost!" Harry ordered and Vespiquen restored herself to full strength.

"Earthquake!" ordered Paul and Torterra caused the battlefield to shake again while Vespiquen was on the ground. "Now use Stone Edge!" Torterra formed the stones which spun around its body and fired them at Vespiquen.

"Dodge it!" Harry yelled and Vespiquen flew up, barely avoiding the lethal attack before grimacing as Leech Seed hurt her, "Attack Order!"

"Vespiquen!" Vespiquen cried and her Combee offspring flew out of her abdomen and started using Bug Bite all over Torterra's huge body. Vespiquen then raised her arms and formed a huge ball of energy between her claws.

"Power Gem, huh?" Paul said and smirked, "That will do hardly any damage to Torterra." He and Torterra just stood there until Vespiquen hurled the Power Gem creating a large explosion, also blowing the Combee away from Torterra.

When the smoke cleared, Torterra was still standing, looking like the explosion had done virtually nothing to it. Harry gritted his teeth. Torterra wasn't even panting.

"Hyper Beam!" ordered Paul and Torterra fired another Hyper Beam at Vesipiquen.

"Defend Order!" Harry ordered and Vespiquen used her children as a shield which only slowed down the Hyper Beam. It still broke through the wall of Combee without difficulty and blasted Vespiquen out of the sky. She glowed red and her vision blurred as Leech Seed hurt her again. "Roost!" Vespiquen landed and healed again whilst Torterra was recharging, "Now Bug Buzz!"

"Quen!" Vespiquen cried and sent more sound waves washing over Torterra who grunted but still wasn't taking nearly as much damage as Harry would like. Vespiquen winced as Leech Seed kicked in again.

"Stone Edge!" ordered Paul and Torterra launched another flurry of stones.

"Dodge!" Harry shouted and Vespiquen tried to do so but a couple of stones grazed her abdomen. The one disadvantage of evolving was that she wasn't as agile as she had been as a Combee. She had avoided a direct hit but as a Bug and Flying type even just being grazed by Stone Edge hurt like hell.

Harry was getting worried now. Scared even. Vespiquen was outmatched in terms of power and experience. The only advantage she had were her healing moves and Defend Order. Normally being a Bug and Flying type would give her the advantage over a Grass type but right now her typing was more of a hindrance because of Stone Edge. She had learned a new move and pulled out all the stops but it didn't seem to be enough.

Well, _almost_ all the stops.

Vespiquen grimaced as Leech Seed sucked more of her energy. If she tried to use Roost, she would be vulnerable to another Earthquake and with the constant threat of Stone Edge and Leech Seed sapping her energy she needed all the health she could get. Harry felt terrible for this, but it was either break the morals he and Vespiquen had agreed to abide by, or give up Spiritomb to Paul.

Somehow the decision was both effortless and the hardest thing Harry had ever done.

"Heal Order!" Harry called, feeling like he might as well be killing Vespiquen's babies himself. Vespiquen looked at him and realized that that situation must be truly desperate if he was ordering her to kill her babies. She obeyed and leeched all of the life energy out of the baby Combee, storing it within her own body.

Dead Combee littered the grass. Vespiquen rose regally into the air but her head was down. There was no pride, unlike in the Tag Battle Tournament. She had done it because it was her only real chance of winning against Torterra. Paul looked at the dead Combee on the grass emotionlessly.

"They weren't even really alive to begin with," he said coldly, "Stone Edge!"

"Dodge it and use Heal Order!" Harry ordered and Vespiquen managed to avoided the lethal attack completely this time, then restored herself to full strength with more of her babies' lives, only to wince as Leech Seed sucked her energy again, "Bug Buzz!" Vespiquen sent a Bug Buzz washing over Torterra who grimaced. It finally seemed to be getting tired.

"Stone Edge again!" Paul ordered and Torterra fired yet another Stone Edge, this time hitting Vespiquen directly. Vespiquen shrieked and fell to the ground. "Spiritomb is mine!"

"Tor?" Torterra said, looking at Vespiquen who was pushing herself up weakly. Stone Edge had felt like being pierced by a dozen knives, on top of the loss of energy from Leech Seed. Vespiquen very nearly blacked out as Leech Seed sucked her energy again. Right now the only thing keeping her going was sheer willpower.

"Heal Order!" Harry called and Vespiquen healed once again killing more of her babies in the process. Harry tried to ignore the tiny bodies.

"Why won't you just give up?" Paul said. He was genuinely surprised that Vespiquen was still able to fight, but his words were directed as Harry, "No matter how many times it heals, your Vespiquen doesn't stand a chance. Torterra was knocking out Pokemon it had type disadvantage against long before you even received your first Pokemon."

"I don't care," Harry said, "I won't let Spiritomb suffer under your tyranny. The way you treat your Pokemon is appalling. Chimchar was loyal and hard working and against Metang and Zangoose he showed huge power. But you tossed him aside just because he had a heart. Something you lack."

A flicker of hurt crossed Paul's features. It disappeared quickly but Harry had seen it and Riolu had sensed it. Paul wasn't emotionless after all. He simply hid his feelings better than most.

"Vespiquen. Let's finish that Torterra. Hit it with Attack Order and use Heal Order again," Harry ordered. Vespiquen obeyed, summoning twice the amount of Combee she usually summoned and ordering half of them to use Bug Bite on Torterra while the other half committed suicide in order to heal her.

"Hyper Beam!" Paul ordered and Torterra fired the attack.

"Dodge!" cried Harry and Vespiquen narrowly avoided the yellow beam and hovered high above Torterra who was still taking damage from her Attack Order. Torterra had far more power and experience than she did and if not for her healing moves and Defend Order, it would have defeated her easily but Vespiquen was fighting because she knew her trainer had something precious to lose. And anything precious to Harry was precious to Vespiquen. "Power Gem, then Gust!"

"Vespiquen!" Vespiquen cried and lifted a Power Gem above her head before hurling it straight down at Torterra and using Gust to increase its momentum.

A Power Gem on its own could barely faze Torterra. A Power Gem from above, created and hurled with all of Vespiquen's strength, in addition to having its momentum increased by both the natural power of gravity and Vespiquen's strongest Gust attack, smashed down on top of Torterra like a meteor. It was basically the equivalent of two Critical Hits at the same time and one of those hits was super effective.

The explosion before had been large but this one was massive. Harry and Paul were almost knocked off their feet by the tremendous force of the blast. But Harry had to make certain beyond any shadow of a doubt that the battle was over. Leech Seed was still in effect after all.

"Vespiquen, one last Bug Buzz!" Vespiquen sent the sound waves shooting into the smoke before it had even cleared. The Bug Buzz was so loud that everyone in the area winced. Finally the smoke died away.

Torterra had been defeated.

Paul stared at his unconscious Starter Pokemon in disbelief. Losing to Cynthia was one thing. Losing to a rookie, a trainer with only two badges who was five years younger than him, was entirely another. And on top of that the kid had defeated the most powerful Pokemon Paul had. Sure Vespiquen had type advantage but simply the fact that she had endured Torterra's Stone Edge whilst simultaneously dealing with Leech Seed, let alone actually defeated it in a one-on-one battle, was astonishing.

Paul was starting to wonder if there actually was something to this "love your Pokemon" stuff after all.

"Well, you win," he said, keeping his thoughts and emotions hidden. It was something he'd been doing for years, "Spiritomb is yours." He recalled Torterra and walked away without another word.

Harry ran to Vespiquen and threw himself on her in a hug, so happy that he'd even forgotten about the corpses of the dead Combee around her.

"Vespiquen, you were incredible!" he said, crying slightly with relief and happiness, "Thank you so much!"

"Vespi," Vespiquen said happily then grew serious and mournful. She gestured around at the dead Combee and the mindless drones that remained.

"We'll bury them," Harry said, "Wait is that what your species does?" Vespiquen shook her head, "We'll do it anyway." He looked at the remaining baby Combee, "What about your surviving babies?" Vespiquen looked around at the mindless babies, which could one day become adult Combee. If they lived long enough. And had somebody to protect them.

Both Vespiquen and her trainer knew what the right thing to do was. Neither of them wanted to do it. But Harry had separated from Ash, Dawn and Brock because he felt it was the right thing to do. Vespiquen realized that there was a possibility that he might release her so she could raise her Combee babies. If he did so, they might never meet again.

Vespiquen made the decision for both of them.

"Vespiquen," said Vespiquen and cut herself off from her conscience just long enough to listen to the natural instinct her species had when they were injured. It was selfish and tyrannical but Vespiquen forced herself to absorb the remaining Combee's energy. She promised herself that even if Harry ordered her too, she would never use Heal Order again, unless there were fully grown Combee around her who could survive the process, but she couldn't bear the thought of never seeing him again. Harry looked around at the corpses, "Vespi!" Vespiquen looked at her trainer pleadingly. She knew how he felt about what she'd just done.

"I understand," Harry said quietly, "I don't want you to leave either. But this is the _last time_ we use your babies in battle unless we're actually going to let them grow up." Vespiquen nodded, "I think you should learn Protect to replace Defend Order." Vespiquen nodded again.

Harry turned to Spiritomb and Riolu. Riolu disapproved of Vespiquen's decision and was also glaring at Harry for not stopping her. Spiritomb was unaffected by it.

"Spiritomb," Harry said, "I need to officially put you in a Poke Ball, so that another trainer like that can't steal you from me. I know you hate being confined but I don't want you ending up with a person like Paul." He took out a Poke Ball, "Just so you know, you can break out of a Poke Ball whenever you like." Spiritomb looked at the Poke Ball for a long time.

Then he nodded and allowed Harry to officially catch him.

 **This battle was very difficult to write and I had to keep changing it to make it as realistic as possible. If we were going by the rules of the games, Torterra would have knocked out Vespiquen with that first Stone Edge, unless she had a Focus Sash, because it's much more experienced. Fortunately this is more closely related to the anime which allowed me bend the rules a bit.**

 **This is the first time I've had a Pokémon use seven moves in one battle. That's the maximum number of moves I'm allowing Pokémon to use at one time and in this case it was to emphasize how hard Vespiquen was fighting for Harry and Spiritomb, plus she learned Power Gem during the battle. For the most part, I'll stick to six moves at one time and only use seven if I feel it's necessary. I also wanted to emphasize how desperate the situation was by forcing Vespiquen to kill her children whilst using Heal Order, which of course she would only need to do if her opponent could use a Ground type move to attack her whilst using Roost.**

 **I could have had Harry release Vespiquen in this chapter in order to look after the Combee who survived the battle, but I've grown quite fond of her and as you can see Harry and Vespiquen love each other a lot. Neither of them is entirely selfless which is why Harry wasn't overly upset about Vespiquen killing the remaining Combee once the battle was over.**

 **I think this chapter establishes Vespiquen as Harry's most powerful Pokémon at this point in the story. She won't always be Harry's strongest Pokémon, but she'll continue to be one of his powerhouses and as you can see she's got incredible endurance and determination.**


	21. Mr Backlot's Garden

Like Riolu, Spiritomb preferred to follow Harry around outside the ball. Since his battle with Paul, Harry had not encountered any trainers so Spiritomb's only experience in battling under his command was during the disasterous fight with Pikachu.

"Eevee!" cried a voice. Harry stopped in surprise as an Eevee darted past him. The little creature looked vaguely like a fennec fox with long thin ears, a bushy tail and a large, furry, cream coloured collar.

" _Eevee, the Evolution Pokemon. Eevee has a unique genetic code which allows it to evolve into many different Pokemon._ "

"Eevee!" cried a woman's voice, "Where are you?"

"Leaf!" cried another voice and a green haired woman appeared. She had a Leafeon by her side. Like Eevee, Leafeon resembled a fox but was yellow and had leaves for its ears and tail as well as a leaf between its ears.

" _Leafeon, the Verdant Pokemon and one of the evolved forms of Eevee._ _Just like a plant, it uses photosynthesis. As a result, it is always enveloped in clean air._ "

"There you are," said the woman and saw Harry, "Oh hello. Who are…holy mother of Mew! What is that!?" She shrieked in terror when she saw Spiritomb. The Leafeon by her side bristled aggressively.

"Calm down, Ma'am," Harry said, "That's my Spiritomb." Spiritomb smiled in a way that Harry knew was meant to be friendly, but to the woman it looked more like an evil leer.

Not to the Eevee though. With a fascinated expression, Eevee approached the Forbidden Pokemon.

"Leafee!" Leafeon yelled.

"Eevee, come back!" cried the woman at the same time. Spiritomb cocked his head slightly. Even his own trainer hadn't approached him as fearlessly as this Eevee. He lowered himself down until his keystone was on the ground.

"It's okay," Harry said, "Spiritomb won't hurt Eevee." He hoped. An image of Ash's badly injured Pikachu flashed through his mind. Eevee put a paw on Spiritomb's keystone.

"Eevee?" it smiled at the scary looking Pokemon.

"Spiritomb!" Spiritomb said happily.

"See?" Harry said and he and Riolu smiled as they watched Spiritomb make friends with the Eevee. Leafeon relaxed slightly, but still looked ready to jump to Eevee's rescue if it seemed to be in danger. The woman calmed down.

"Sorry," she said, "But that thing is terrifying!"

"A lot of people thought that," Harry said then admitted, "Hell, even I thought that. But Spiritomb isn't anywhere near as nasty as he looks." He paused, "Unless there's a Pikachu involved."

"What about Pichu's?" asked the woman.

"I don't know," Harry admitted and glanced at Spiritomb, "Spiritomb, do you have anything against Pichu's?"

"Rit," Spiritomb shook his head.

"In that case, why don't you come with me to Mr Backlot's mansion?" said the woman. Harry hesitated. Riolu looked up at him and smiled reassuringly; if this woman's offer had any malicious intent, Riolu couldn't sense it. Judging by the terror she had shown when she saw Spiritomb, she wasn't emotionless like Paul or the mysterious man they had met in Mount Coronet. Although to say Paul was emotionless wasn't quite true. He had shown a flicker of emotion when Harry accused him of not having a heart. It was only the mystery man who was so emotionless that even Riolu couldn't sense anything from him.

"Okay," Harry agreed.

"My name's Monica," said the woman.

"I'm Harry," Harry replied and he followed Monica with Riolu by his side. Eevee and Spiritomb came next and Leafeon brought up the rear, still slightly wary of Spiritomb.

* * *

"What a fascinating creature!" said Mr Backlot, examining Spiritomb with exhuberance instead of fear, which was a nice change for the Forbidden Pokemon, "And a Riolu too! You are a lucky young man!"

"I know," Harry said smiling at Riolu and Spiritomb.

"Please, I insist you stay for dinner!" Mr Backlot said heartily, "Then tomorrow I'll show you the Pokemon in my Trophy Garden." Harry glanced at Riolu who smiled and nodded. Spiritomb seemed more interested in looking around. He'd never been in a building any larger than a cottage before and that was over five hundred years ago.

"Spiritomb," said Harry, "Try not to scare anyone out of their pants while you're exploring, won't you?"

"Spirit," Spiritomb nodded and floated away to look around the mansion. Back before he was sealed in his keystone, the only contact he'd had with humans and their buildings was in the tiny village he'd played harmless tricks on. The entire village had only been about the size of the mansion, so Spiritomb was fascinated by the place.

Spiritomb was later found by Riolu, whom Harry had sent to look for him. Riolu found him staring at a picture of a Pikachu, wondering whether to blow it up with Hyper Beam or not. A young man, who must be a relative of Mr Backlot, had the Mouse Pokemon on his shoulder, much like Ash's Pikachu.

"Rio?" Riolu looked at the hovering Ghost and Dark type. Spiritomb looked down at him, then back at the photograph.

"Spirit," he grunted then turned and followed Riolu who led him back to their master.

Harry had been allowed to sleep in one of Mr Backlot's guest bedrooms. Riolu and Spiritomb joined him and Riolu hopped onto the end of his bed. Spiritomb settled in a corner of the room and closed his swirling eyes while Riolu went under the duvet beside his master.

* * *

Harry was surprised when he found Riolu sleeping at the end of the bed when he woke up the next morning. The Emanation Pokemon had never done that before.

"Spiritomb," said Spiritomb, hovering beside the bed. Although he had mellowed since nearly killing Pikachu, he still had no idea about respecting personal space.

"Morning, Spiritomb," Harry said, trying not to show how uncomfortable he felt about having the still scary looking Pokemon floating right next to him. Spiritomb smiled that warm, evil smile and floated over to Riolu's side of the bed.

"Riiiiiolu!" Riolu yawned. He looked up at Spiritomb, jumped in shock then relaxed. He smiled and patted the Forbidden Pokemon's keystone in a friendly manner, before hopping right through his gaseous body and out of bed. Harry got dressed and went down to breakfast.

* * *

"So these Pokemon are basically wild?" Harry asked Mr Backlot who was taking him on a tour of the garden. Most Pokemon in the garden were very small.

"That's right," said Mr Backlot.

"What about the Eevee and Leafeon I saw yesterday?" Harry asked.

"They're wild too," Backlot confirmed, "Brother and sister. Leafeon's the brother and Eevee's the sister."

Harry looked around for the siblings. Both he and his grandfather had always been interested in Eevee and its evolved forms. Eevee itself was uncommon but catching all of its evolved forms would require a tremendous amount of luck.

"People take Pokemon from your garden don't they, Mr Backlot?" Harry said.

"All the time," Backlot said and looked at him, "You interested?"

"In Eevee and Leafeon," Harry admitted, "And Eevee's the first living being whose never been afraid of Spiritomb, nor tried to attack him."

"Spirit," Spiritomb said fondly from behind them.

"Eevee!" cried Eevee and the little Pokemon suddenly pounced on Spiritomb. Naturally she passed straight through him but she just giggled and jumped through him a second time. Spiritomb chuckled. Leafeon approached, bristling at the unintentionally evil sounding chuckle. Eevee then ran over to Riolu and nuzzled him. Riolu patted her head. Leafeon relaxed slightly at seeing Eevee approach the less dangerous looking Riolu.

"Eevee's just a child," Backlot said, "She's had little experience of the world outside the Trophy Garden and Eterna Forest."

"Didn't you have to catch her and Leafeon to get them here from Eterna Forest?" Harry asked.

"My butler did that and then released them," Backlot explained, "They were perfectly happy here so there was no need to keep them in Poke Balls, and neither I nor Samuel, my butler, are trainers. I just enjoy seeing so many adorable and rare Pokemon in one place."

"Hey Eevee," Harry knelt beside her. She looked up at him happily, "You like Riolu and Spiritomb don't you? Do you want to come with me? Your brother can come too if he wants."

"Leaf!" said Leafeon and leaped forwards. Whilst Eevee was smiling happily, Leafeon looked like he was spoiling for a fight. Eevee looked at her brother.

"I think Leafeon wants to battle you," Mr Backlot said, "He's very protective of Eevee." Eevee pushed past Leafeon.

"Eevee, Eevee," she said and swished her tail at him in an aggravated manner. She was tired of Leafeon always trying to protect her from everything. She wanted to be able to make her own decisions. Leafeon took a step back. He looked at his little sister for a long moment.

Finally he looked up at Harry.

"Leafe, Leaf!" Leafeon said and Harry had a feeling that translated to, "If my sister's going with you then so am I." Harry nodded. That was exactly what he had hoped Leafeon would do. He took out two Poke Balls. Eevee touched one with her nose and Leafeon tapped the other with a paw. Brother and sister disappeared into their respective Poke Balls. Harry smiled happily.

 **Not my best chapter but I'm hoping for Harry to get most if not all of the Eeveelutions. Gotta start somewhere.**


	22. Crisis in the Great Marsh

Harry sent Buizel and Chimchar to his grandfather's lab to make room for Eevee and Leafeon. Spiritomb still preferred not to go in his Poke Ball, despite people's tendency to run away whenever they saw him. Although Spiritomb was intimidating and gave Harry a rather malevolent image to cowards or shallow people, Harry battled three people who were fascinated by the Forbidden Pokemon. Spiritomb won all three battles without much difficulty and without flying off the handle. Apart from Vespiquen, he was currently the most powerful Pokemon in Harry's possession.

Riolu continued practicing Aura Sphere. The power of Aura Sphere was good, but Riolu was still struggling to maintain focus on his opponent's Aura's so that the attack would always hit them. If he was a Lucario, mastery of Aura Sphere would be easy, due to Lucario's considerably more powerful Aura connection. However, although Riolu wanted to evolve into Lucario some day, he wanted to master Aura Sphere _before_ evolving, to prove to himself and his trainer that he was capable of doing so. Of course, it didn't really matter since he wanted to evolve into Lucario eventually anyway, but it felt irrationally important to Riolu.

While Spiritomb was winning battles and Riolu was struggling with Aura Sphere, Drifloon learned how to use Shadow Ball, which Leafeon and Eevee started learning too, with her help. Vespiquen was also practicing Protect and often getting hurt in the process, but the resilient Beehive Pokemon kept trying.

A week after catching Eevee and Leafeon, Harry reached Pastoria City. He approached the gym and a large, muscular man exited almost as soon as Harry reached the doors.

"Hey there!" said the man cheerfully, "You here to challenge the Pastoria Gym?"

"Yes," Harry said.

"Sorry but I've just had a battle with another trainer," the man apologised, "I'm Crasher Wake the Gym Leader, but it wouldn't be a fair fight if we battled while my Pokemon are tired would it?"

"No," Harry agreed, "Okay, I'll come back tomorrow."

"Kid, have you been to the Great Marsh?" Wake asked before Harry could leave.

"No," Harry looked back at the big man.

"You should," Wake advised, "I captured a Quagsire there just three days ago."

"Alright, I'll check it out," Harry said, shrugging and he and the Gym Leader separated.

* * *

The Great Marsh wasn't the most pleasant place Harry had ever been as it was quite literally a swamp. However he saw several Pokemon he hadn't run into before including Yanma, Skorupi and even a Toxicroak. With some persuasion, the Marsh Officials had allowed Harry to enter with Riolu and Spiritomb outside their Poke Balls, but he was not allowed to actually battle any of the Pokémon. Which was unfortunate because it was clear that at least one of the Pokemon was spoiling for a fight.

"Get out of the way!" yelled a boy who was being chased by an angry Drapion, "That Drapion's crazy!"

A few officials who patrolled the Great Marsh in case of these kinds of events caught up with the Drapion. One of them sent out an Ariados who pinned the Pokemon down with Electroweb, shocking Drapion whilst also trapping it.

"It's okay," said Ariados' trainer.

"That thing could have killed me!" yelled the guy Drapion had been chasing. He stormed out of the Great Marsh. Harry watched the Pokemon still thrashing around in the Elecroweb.

"Draaa!" Drapion bellowed and tore its way out of the Electroweb. Harry quickly retreated behind a tree. Spiritomb joined him while the angry Drapion looked around for someone to fight. The Marsh Officials tried shooting tranquilisers at it but the darts just bounced off Drapion's sturdy body.

"Look!" cried one of the Officials pointing at the sky. Everyone looked up, including Drapion.

A huge blimp shaped like a Drifblim floated overhead. It started dropping smoke bombs all over the Great Marsh.

"What's happening?" bellowed one of the Officials. Harry looked up at the blimp as it dropped another smoke bomb near his location.

"Vespiquen, Drifloon Gust!" he called and let out the two Pokemon, who quickly blew the smoke away. However the Drapion was gone. Harry looked up at the blimp then looked at the Officials, "I think someone's doing some Pokemon Poaching."

"We have to stop them!" cried Ariados' trainer.

"Drifloon," Harry said, "Do you think you could find a way into that blimp and sabotage it?" Drifloon looked at the blimp that resembled her evolved form. Then she nodded and floated towards it, but the wind picked up around her and Drifloon was blown off course. Vespiquen went up to help her. Once the pair reached the blimp, a Xatu appeared. Vespiquen pushed Drifloon towards the blimp and Drifloon used Minimize to try and find a way inside, while the Beehive Pokemon fought the Xatu.

"Power Gem, Vespiquen!" called Harry. Vespiquen was so high up that it wasn't easy for her to hear him but she obeyed. Xatu vanished. It had used Teleport. That must have been how the poachers transported the Pokemon up to the blimp so quickly, although Xatu couldn't have Teleported so many Pokemon by itself.

* * *

Drifloon found her way into the blimp through a tiny gap in a window by using Minimize. She stayed in her tiny form once she'd breached the aircraft and found rows of Pokemon cages inside. There were two men in the cockpit. An Alakazam was keeping an eye on the Pokemon prisoners.

Whenever one of the Pokemon in the cages attacked the bars they received an electric shock. For those who resisted or were immune to electricity, the Alakazam used Confusion to keep them in check. The only Pokemon who kept hammering away at the bars despite being shocked every time was Drapion. Drifloon floated towards him and returned to her full size. She pointed one of her arms at Drapion's claw, then at the keyhole.

Unlike Drifloon's thin arms, Drapion's claw, although sharp, was too large to make a good lock pick and the constant shocks made it painful. Despite this the Ogre Scorp Pokemon managed to either unlock or simply break the cages locking mechanism; it was impossible to tell which. Once the door was open the electricity stopped as its circuit had been severed.

"Alakazam!" Alakazam warned its trainers as Drapion crawled between the cages towards them.

"Jim," said one of the men, looking back fearfully. The other man, Jim turned around and saw a very angry Drapion approaching.

"Signal Beam, Alakazam!" he shouted and Alakazam fired two green and red beams from its spoons, driving Drapion back. Drifloon used Minimize again and slipped past them, remaining tiny until she reached the cockpit. Then she returned to her full size, surprising the two men.

"What the!" yelled the unnamed man and Jim jerked away from the controls, yanking the joystick accidentally. The blimp went out of control.

* * *

Harry's Vespiquen was still unable to hit Xatu until the blimp started tilting. Xatu noticed and so did Harry and the Officials but Vespiquen had her back to the blimp. She hurled another Power Gem during Xatu's brief distraction, knocking it out of the sky.

"Vespiquen, Slash!" Harry ordered and Vespiquen slashed Xatu with her claws and sent it spiralling towards the ground. It landed hard and was knocked out.

The blimp crashed into the Great Marsh and all the air started to rush out of the massive balloon. A moment later an Alakazam and two men appeared out of thin air, using Teleport.

"You two!" bellowed Ariados's trainer, "Poaching is forbidden! Ariados use Shadow Sneak!" Ariados shadow extended very rapidly and struck Alakazam before it could Teleport.

"Shadow Ball, Spiritomb!" Harry called and Spiritomb's ball of shadowy energy finished Alakazam off. Behind the thieves, Drapion smashed its way out of the underside of the blimp, accompanied by Drifloon, "Great work, Drifloon! We got them thanks to you!"

"Drifloon!" said Drifloon happily. Drapion looked at her hovering beside it and nodded before glaring at the poachers who both looked terrified.

"Draaa!" roared Drapion and formed a black orb of rings between its claws before firing the Dark Pulse. The attack sent the two poachers flying so high into the air that soon they were just specks in the sky.

"I was hoping we could arrest them," said an Official.

"Who cares?" said Ariados' trainer, "Come on, we need to get the Pokemon out of there!"

While the Marsh Officials hurried to free the other Pokemon. Harry noticed that Drapion had mellowed around Drifloon and took out a Safari Ball. He threw it at Drapion. He was expecting it to smash its way out and go on a rampage but surprisingly the Safari Ball worked.

"Drifloon!" Drifloon said and picked up the Safari Ball before returning it to her trainer.

"Thanks Drifloon," Harry said, "You did very well. I'm proud of you." Drifloon hugged him.


	23. On the Water

**I wanted Harry to catch something in the Great Marsh and aside from Drapion the only Pokémon from the Marsh I was interested in him having was Tropius. In the end I chose Drapion because it's more badass.**

Harry met Crasher Wake at the gym the next day. The gym's battlefield was a huge swimming pool with platforms floating on various parts of the pool for Pokemon who weren't good swimmers to stand on.

"During this battle, each trainer will be permitted to use three Pokemon," announced Wake's referee, "The battle will be over when all three Pokemon on either side are unable to battle. In addition only the challenger is permitted to substitute his Pokemon.

"Lumineon, on the water!" yelled Crasher Wake and a fish like Pokemon with fins that looked like the wings of a butterfly appeared.

" _Lumineon the Neon Pokemon and evolved form of Finneon. It lives on the deep-sea floor and attracts prey by flashing the patterns on its four tail fins_."

"Buizel, take your position!" Harry released his own Water type.

"I had a Buizel once," Wake said before starting the battle, "Lumineon, use Silver Wind!" Lumineon's large fins glowed white and it flapped them hard releasing a wind with silver crescents in it at Buizel.

"Into the water, Buizel!" Harry ordered and Buizel dived underwater. Crasher Wake smirked.

"Use Whirlpool!" he ordered and Lumineon swam very rapidly around Buizel, creating a whirlpool which sent Buizel spinning helplessly, "Good, now use Silver Wind again!" Luminion jumped out of the water before flapping its fins again and sending cresent shaped wind into the Whirlpool striking Buizel. Harry gritted his teeth then remembered what his pokedex had told him when he first captured Buizel.

"Buizel, don't fight the current, ride it just like you would in a stream!" he instructed and Buizel stopped thrashing and instead followed the flow of the Whirlpool, spinning his tail's to pick up speed, "Now get out of there with Aqua Jet!"

"Bui!" Buizel cried and shot out of the Whirlpool before rocketing into Luminion like a bullet sending it flying out of the pool.

"Well done," Crasher Wake said approvingly, "But you're lucky my Lumineon has Swift Swim as his Ability, or else Water type moves would give him a power boost. Lumineon, Bounce back into the pool!" Lumineon couldn't move around very well on land but its wing like fins enabled it to gain great height with its Bounce, almost as though it was flying. It aimed for Buizel.

"Dodge it!" Harry called and Buizel simply swam backwards before Luminion splashed into the pool, "Hey Wake, can Lumineon actually fly?"

"Not like a Flying type but it can use its fins to change direction in the time it takes for it to hit the water!" Wake explained, "Use Water Pulse!" Lumineon formed an orb of water in front of his mouth and fired it at Buizel. The Water Pulse skimmed across the surface of the pool, picking up more power from the water beneath it.

"Water Pulse too!" Harry ordered and Buizel used the same move, also skimming the orb across the pool to build up its power. The two Water Pulse's collided and there was an explosion which sent water showering over Buizel and Lumineon.

"What do you know?" Wake chuckled, "Lumineon didn't need his Rain Dance to activate Swift Swim. Use Silver Wind!" Lumineon struck Buizel with Silver Wind and blew him backwards. Buizel slammed into the edge of the pool.

"Buizel, Aqua Jet!" Harry called and once again Buizel shot forwards about as quickly as he did when he used the Whirlpool to boost his speed. Despite this, Wake was ready.

"Dodge it!" he called and Lumineon darted away.

"Sonicboom!" Harry called and with lightning quick reflexes, Buizel swing his twin tails fired a Sonicboom straight into Lumineon's side, "You didn't think I didn't know Buizel's Ability is Swift Swim too, did you?" The spray from the water explosion stopped due to its inability to last as long as the move Rain Dance. Crasher Wake shrugged.

"Well judging by your age, I assumed you don't have much experience," he said.

"I've experienced a few things," Harry said thinking about Team Galactic, Hunter J, Paul and the Tag Battle Competition, "Alright Buizel, use a barrage of Sonicbooms."

"Dodge 'em all, Lumineon!" ordered Wake. Although neither Pokemon had the advantage of Swift Swim now that the water spray had died down, Lumineon still manoeuvred skilfully between the shock waves, "Water Pulse!"

"Buizel, dive underwater then Aqua Jet!" Harry called and Buizel dove beneath the Water Pulse and then attacked Luminion from underneath, throwing him into the air. This proved to be a mistake.

"Bounce!" Wake boomed and Lumineon flapped his fins enough to alter his trajectory and aim towards Buizel as he descended. Harry cursed himself for forgetting what Wake had said only moments ago; although Lumineon couldn't exactly fly, he could still manoeuvre in the air whilst falling.

"Dodge it!" he shouted but too late. Lumineon landed on top of Buizel and slammed him into the pool. A moment later, Buizel floated to the surface.

"Buizel is unable to battle!" cried the referee, "Lumineon wins."

"An excellent job, Lumineon," said Wake proudly as Harry recalled Buizel.

"Sorry Buizel," he said, "You got knocked out because of my mistake. You deserve a rest."

Harry hesitated, considering his next Pokemon. Luxio was an obvious choice but Harry wanted to save him for Wake's other Pokemon. Leafeon had type advantage but was vulnerable to Silver Wind and his type advantage over Water _Pokemon_ didn't translate to an advantage on a Water _battlefield._ Unlike with Luxio's Electric attacks, Leafeon couldn't use the pool to increase the power of his Grass type moves and wouldn't be able to do anything if Wake's Pokemon went underwater. Harry had never actually fought on a water battlefield before, but he knew that if he was going to win he would need to use Pokemon that weren't hindered by the pool.

Harry decided he didn't like water battlefields.

"Drifloon, take your position!" he called and let out the Balloon Pokemon.

"Interesting choice," Wake noted, "Alright Lumineon, use Water Pulse!" Lumineon fired the water orb at Drifloon.

"Dodge it and use Acrobatics!" Harry ordered and Drifloon darted forwards, leaving behind two after images as she closed in on Lumineon.

"Dive," Wake ordered and Lumineon ducked into the water and Drifloon missed him. Lumineon then leapt out of the water behind the Balloon Pokemon, "Use Water Pulse!" This time Lumineon's aim was true and Drifloon landed on one of the platforms.

Harry grunted with irritation. He _really_ didn't like water battlefields. Somehow he needed Drifloon to get close to Lumineon.

"Drifloon, Acrobatics!" he called and Drifloon tried the attack again.

"Dive!" called Wake and Lumineon disappeared underwater again.

"Drifloon, aim your strongest Ominous Wind straight towards the water," Harry instructed and Drifloon floated up and spun, sending dark wind flying down at the water. At first it just created ripples but as the water was blown this way and that, but as the Ominous Wind continued blowing, the water started getting quite choppy. Lumineon was being thrown around as Drifloon relentlessly attacked the water which had previously been his place of safety.

Then Drifloon glowed red for a moment. Harry wasn't sure what the glow meant but at that moment, Lumineon burst out of the water to get out of the waves. He was now exactly where Harry needed him.

"Acrobatics!" he shouted and Drifloon rammed into the airborne Lumineon and hurled him across the room. Lumineon crashed into a wall and collapsed.

"Lumineon is unable to battle, Drifloon wins!"

"Nice work, Drifloon," Harry said and then took out his pokedex.

" _Although it happens very rarely, Ominous Wind has a potential side effect which raises all a Pokemon's stats at once._ "

"Really?" Harry said, "Well that's definitely useful!" He looked over at Crasher Wake who had taken out another Poke Ball while Harry was learning about Ominous Wind's side effect.

"Gyarados, on the water!" he shouted and a huge, terrifying sea serpent like Pokemon emerged. Drifloon actually floated back slightly at the sight of the creature.

" _Gyarados, the Atrocious Pokemon and the evolved form of Magikarp. Unlike its pitiful pre-evolution, Gyarados is extremely powerful. It has a ferocious temper and is feared by sailors._ "

"Alright Drifloon, let's put your boosts to good use," Harry said, "Shadow Ball!" Drifloon formed an orb of black energy in front of her face and fired it at Gyarados.

"Dive!" ordered Wake and Gyarados disappeared beneath the water.

"Ominous Wind on the water!" Harry ordered.

"Do you really think I'll fall for that twice?" asked Wake and Gyarados burst out of the water without needing to be prompted by Drifloon's Ominous Wind, "Dragon Rage!" Gyarados roared and fired a huge ball of orange energy from his mouth which exploded violently upon making contact with Drifloon.

"Drifloon!" Harry shouted. The smoke cleared and revealed Drifloon. She was hurt badly but not yet defeated, "That's the spirit. Shadow Ball!" Drifloon formed another Shadow Ball and fired, this time successfully hitting Gyarados who roared with pain from the boosted attack.

"Use Aqua Tail!" ordered Wake and Gyarados' huge tail became surrounded by water before it swung it at Drifloon.

"Minimize!" called Harry and Drifloon shrank quickly, causing Aqua Tail to pass harmlessly over her head, "Acrobatics!" Drifloon returned to her proper size and slammed into Gyarados' face, knocking the larger Pokémon back thanks to the Attack boost from Ominous Wind.

"Bite!" ordered Wake and Gyrados opened its jaws and snapped at Drifloon.

"Dodge then Shadow Ball!" Harry ordered and Drifloon darted away from Gyarados forming Shadow Ball as she moved.

"Aqua Tail!" cried Wake and Gyarados lashed out with its water enveloped tail just as Drifloon fired the Shadow Ball. Having to slow down for a moment in order to aim the attack, Drifloon got knocked into the water by Aqua Tail but fired her Shadow Ball just before impact which exploded in Gyarados' face. Gyarados crashed down onto a platform, unconscious. When Drifloon floated to the surface of the pool, it was revealed she had also been knocked out.

"Drifloon and Gyarados are both unable to battle!"

"Thanks for fighting hard, Drifloon," Harry said, "You get some rest."

"Good work Gyarados," Wake said and grinned at his challenger, "This has been an enjoyable battle, Harry. But let's see if you can defeat my strongest Pokemon. Floatzel on the water!" The evolved form of Buizel appeared. He basically looked the same as Buizel except bigger and with a yellow flotation sac wrapped around his body instead of just his neck. He also had a blue fin on each arm. Harry was relieved that Wake wasn't using the Quagsire he mentioned he had captured in the Great Marsh.

" _Floatzel the Sea Weasel Pokémon and evolved form of Buizel. With its flotation sac inflated, it can carry people on its back. It deflates the sac before it dives_."

"Luxio, take your position!" the Spark Pokemon emerged and landed on a platform. "Use Wild Charge!" Luxio lunged at Floatzel, surrounding himself with electricity as he leapt from his platform to his opponent's platform.

"Bulk Up!" Wake ordered and Floatzel inflated his floatation sac before glowing red. Luxio slammed into him and drove him back towards the edge of the platform, but failed to knock him into the water. Then Luxio winced as the recoil effect kicked in. "Use Ice Fang!" Floatzel opened his mouth and two of his small fangs glowed before he bit down on Luxio causing the Electric type to roar with pain.

"Luxio, get away from it!" Harry yelled and Luxio turned and tried to jump to another platform but his back and sides had been frozen by the Ice Fang, severely limiting his movements.

"Use Razor Wind!" called Wake and the fins on Floatzel's arms glowed white before he launched two blades of wind which knocked Luxio into the water.

"Luxio!" Harry shouted. Luxio thrashed his way to the surface, still hindered by the freezing effect of Ice Fang. Floatzel just stood and watched as Luxio struggled to pull himself out of the water.

Then Luxio glowed white. The ice on his back melted and he pulled himself onto the platform before the glow even faded. By the time he faced Floatzel again, Luxio had evolved into Luxray.

"Awesome!" Harry said and took out his pokedex.

" _Luxray the Gleam Eyes Pokemon and the final form of Shinx. Luxray's eyesight is so powerful that it is able to see through illusions and solid objects, making it a lethal hunter._ "

"Alright Luxray use Shock Wave!" Harry ordered, mentally noting that Luxray's prodigious eyesight might be just as useful as Riolu's Aura. Luxray fired a huge Shock Wave and Floatzel shrieked in pain.

"Show that Luxray how tough you are, Floatzel!" Wake cried, "Use Bulk Up!" Floatzel inflated his sac once more and glowed red to raise his Attack and Defence again. "Now Ice Fang!"

Harry was expecting Floatzel to leap towards Luxray to deliver the attack, since Floatzel was standing on a different platform. However both he and Luxray were caught off guard when Floatzel's freezing fangs extended far beyond than their natural length. Luxray roared and was nearly knocked into the water by the attack. He managed to regain his balance but was panting and shivering slightly from being hit by the freezing fangs.

"I didn't know Ice Fang could be used like that!" Harry said.

"It took a lot of training for Floatzel to master Ice Fang to such a degree," Wake replied.

"I bet it did. Luxray, Double Team!" Harry called and a moment later every platform except the one Floatzel was standing on had a Luxray copy standing on it.

"Hit 'em all with Ice Fang!" roared Wake and once again Floatzel's fangs extended far beyond their natural length and struck each Luxray clone.

"Dodge it and use Shock Wave!" Harry shouted and the real Luxray jumped above the extended, freezing fangs before launching another bolt of electricity towards Floatzel.

"Whirlpool!" bellowed Wake and Floatzel raised his arms and created a huge Whirlpool over his head which shielded him from the Shock Wave but was destroyed in the process, "Floatzel use Aqua Jet!" Floatzel surrounded himself with water, spun his tails and shot towards Luxray.

"Wild Charge!" Harry roared at the same time and Luxray shrouded himself in electricity once more and charged. Although Luxray had both Rivalry and type advantage, the fact that Floatzel had used Bulk Up twice made the Gleam Eyes Pokémon unable to overpower him. However Floatzel was also unable to overpower Luxray and the resulting explosion sent them both tumbling into the pool, "Luxray!"

"Floatzel!" cried Wake. Floatzel was the first one to emerge. He heaved himself onto a platform, sparks still surrounding his soaked body. Harry was impressed. Luxray emerged a moment later and also pulled himself out of the water. Both Pokémon glared each other.

Then Floatzel fainted.

"Floatzel is unable to battle!" announced the referee, "Luxray wins! The victory goes to the challenger, Harry Rowan!"

"Yes!" Harry shouted, "You were brilliant, Luxray!" Luxray smiled exhaustedly at him. Wake smiled as he recalled Floatzel.

"Excellent job, Floatzel," he said, "You deserve a nice, long rest." He then beamed at his challenger and they went around the pool to meet each other, "Excellent battle young man. You're a talented trainer and I have no doubt you will become even better. Here's your reward," he held out a badge, "the Fen Badge."

"Thank you," Harry said and took the badge. On the edge of the pool, Riolu and Luxray both smiled, although Luxray still looked ready to drop, "Luxray, you'd better take a rest." Harry recalled Luxray and put the Fen Badge away in his badge case. Then he shook Crasher Wake's hand and he and Riolu left the gym.

 **Luxray and Drapion's first meeting won't be a pleasant one. I haven't forgotten about what happened with J's Drapion but, although he hasn't forgotten the experience itself, Harry has forgotten how it affected Luxray.**


	24. Rivalry

"Riolu, Aura Sphere!" Harry shouted, "Vespiquen, dodge it!" Riolu focussed on Vespiquen as he summoned Aura Sphere and hurled it at her. As ordered, Vespiquen dodged it but Riolu had finally gotten the hang of locking Aura Sphere onto an opponent's Aura. The Aura Sphere turned in mid-aid and struck Vespiquen from behind. She lost her balance but thanks to her Flying type characteristics the attack didn't really hurt.

"Riolu!" Riolu smiled.

"Well done," Harry said, "I think you've got it. Just one more time to be sure." Riolu obeyed, confidently summoning Aura Sphere and firing it. Like before Vespiquen dodged and the Aura Sphere turned in mid-air and struck her anyway. She shrugged it off and nodded happily towards Riolu, "Excellent work, Riolu! And thanks for helping us out, Vespiquen."

"Vespi," Vespiquen nodded.

"Alright guys, time for lunch," Harry said. He wished Brock was here but shrugged that off as he took out a jar of honey for Vespiquen and Pokemon food for the rest. Harry then released his other Pokémon. Aside from Riolu and Vespiquen, he also had Luxray, Drapion, Spiritomb and Drifloon.

As soon as Luxray saw Drapion his fur sparked. Initially it seemed like aggression but instead of stepping towards Drapion, Luxray took a step back. He had never seemed afraid of anything before.

Then Harry realized what the problem was. Just like Spiritomb was traumatized by the Aura Guardian's Pikachu five hundred years ago, Luxray was traumatized by J's Drapion when it nearly tore him apart as a Shinx. Harry had completely forgotten about that.

Drapion was spoiling for a fight. After finishing his meal, he looked around at the other Pokemon, hoping for a challenge. He noticed Luxray had not eaten a thing and was sparking at him, although he misinterpreted the fearful sparks as a challenge.

"Drapi!" Drapion said to Luxray and approached. Luxray stepped back, sparking more intensely in an attempt to warn Drapion to stay away from him.

"Guys, not now," Harry said. Luxray was backing away whilst simultaneously snarling at Drapion, which only made him more eager to fight, "Drapion, not now!" Drapion looked at his trainer for a moment. Then, very deliberately, he created an orb of rings between his claws but didn't fire it right away, just to see how Harry would react. Harry stood up swiftly, "Don't!" Drapion fired the Dark Pulse at Luxray whose eyes widened before he quickly countered with Shock Wave, creating an explosion.

"Looks like your Drapion really wants to battle," said a voice and Harry saw a man roughly twenty years of age, with wild orange hair leaning against a tree.

"Who are you?" Harry asked.

"Ben," said the man, "I've been raising Pokemon for ten years, and I find that if a Pokemon really wants to fight, you should let it. Especially if you've only just caught it."

"How do you know I've only just caught it?" asked Harry.

"You're ten?" the man shrugged, "Eleven at most. You're bond with your Pokemon can't have grown strong enough to control an aggressive Pokemon like Drapion in such a short time."

"I'll have you know I've been able to control Spiritomb," Harry said indignantly, "When we first met, which by the way was only a month ago, he was really aggressive. Don't judge me by my age!"

"Alright, I'm sorry," Ben apologised, "But you're still just a kid. Drapion obviously doesn't respect you."

"So you think I should let him pick fights with my other Pokemon?" Harry asked.

"I didn't say that," Ben said, "You should just use him in battle so he can let off steam. I'll be your opponent if you want." Harry glanced at Drapion, saw how eager he was, and nodded.

"Okay," he said, "Drapion you get to fight after all." Drapion crawled forwards eagerly.

"Go Rhyhorn!" called Ben and a four legged Pokemon resembling a rhinocerous made out of rock appeared.

" _Rhyhorn, the Spikes Pokemon. Rhyhorn is very strong but also rather stupid. When it stops charging it cannot remember why it started charging in the first place._ "

"Drapion, Dark Pulse!" Harry called and Drapion aimed the black rings at Rhyhorn.

"Dig!" called Ben and Rhyhorn jumped, pointed its horn towards the ground, and spun driving its horn into the ground and disappearing from view. Drapion grunted and looked around, "Megahorn!" First the horn, which was glowing white and had extended beyond its natural length, then the rest of Rhyhorn burst out of the ground sending Drapion flying. Drapion crashed to the ground hard.

"Drapion, you okay?" Harry called and Drapion hauled himself onto his feet, looking annoyed. On the edge of the battlefield, Luxray smirked slightly. "Use Cross Poison!" Drapion crossed his arms which glowed purple before lunging and slamming them into Rhyhorn. The Spikes Pokemon simply stood there and took the blow head on.

"Take Down!" ordered Ben and Rhyhorn slammed its whole weight into Drapion who skidded backwards and roared angrily. Rhyhorn was unaffected by recoil damage and Harry remembered Brock mentioning Rock Head when Ash and Paul were battling Rhyhorn's evolved form, Rhydon, in the Tag Battle Competition.

"Drapion use Pin Missile!" Harry ordered and Drapion launched a flurry of missiles from the claws on both arms as well as the claws on his tail. The missiles all hit Rhyhorn and there was an explosion.

"Megahorn!" called Ben and Rhyhorn came charging out of the smoke looking no worse for the wear. Its horn glowed and lengthened and it rammed into Drapion who collapsed to the ground. Drapion didn't get up.

Luxray relaxed upon seeing Drapion had been knocked out and there was a hint of delight in his golden eyes. Harry noticed the Gleam Eyes Pokemon's gleeful expression.

"Luxray, Drapion is a member of the team," he scolded. Luxray looked at the unconscious Ogre Scorp Pokemon and snarled in hatred before turning away.

"What's wrong with your Luxray?" asked Ben.

"He had a very nasty experience with a Drapion when he was a Shinx," Harry explained, "One nearly tore him apart so he hates the entire species." Ben looked at Luxray. Drapion was beginning to stir. Harry wondered if he'd heard what he just said. "Drapion, you okay?" Drapion grunted and crawled away. Harry started to go after him but Drapion turned his head one hundred and eighty degrees with an expression that quite clearly said "don't follow me". He crawled into the trees. Harry wasn't quite sure what to do.

"I think losing to Rhyhorn was a blow to your Drapion's pride," Ben deduced.

"What should I do?" asked Harry.

"I have a Toxicroak who used to have a similar reaction to losing battles," Ben said and shrugged, "I learned to just leave him alone and let him get over it by himself. It took a while but eventually he learned to just let his losses go."

"Well thanks for the battle," Harry said, "And the advice."

"You're welcome," said Ben and recalled Rhyhorn before leaving. Harry turned to his Pokemon.

"Drifloon," he said, "Would you keep an eye on Drapion please?" Drifloon nodded and floated after the Ogre Scorp Pokemon. Harry looked at Luxray, "You know that he's not J's Drapion right?" Luxray growled dismissively, "You don't just hate Drapion. You're afraid of him, aren't you?" Luxray shook his head angrily, "You don't have to deny it. After what J's Drapion did to you, I'm not surprised you're frightened. I'm sorry I didn't consider how bringing Drapion along would affect you."

"Luxray," muttered Luxray.

"Maybe you should try getting to know Drapion," Harry suggested. Luxray growled and started to eat his Pokemon food.

* * *

Drifloon found Drapion sulking. Drapion noticed her as she floated towards him.

"Drifloon?" Drifloon cocked her head questioningly. Drapion turned away and continued sulking. Drifloon simply floated there for a while, letting him sulk. Then she approached and gave him a hug, just like she often did to Harry. Drapion was confused when Drifloon wrapped her arms around him, not knowing that she liked to hug almost anything she could get her arms around. He growled slightly but Drifloon just kept hugging him until he relaxed. Then she let go and floated back.

"Drifloon," she said and beckoned with her arm. Drapion seemed to feel comforted by her hug. He shrugged and followed her back to their trainer.

* * *

Luxray tensed as soon as Drapion returned to the clearing. Drapion noticed his hostile look but didn't try to provoke him. Harry meanwhile studied Luxray's body language. Luxray's natural reaction to fear was clearly threatening to attack whatever he was frightened of. It was admirable that he hid his fear so well, but the fact that he hid it behind a façade of aggression could cause problems since Luxray and Drapion were on the same side.

"Everyone return," Harry decided, recalling all his Pokemon except Riolu. He looked down at the Emanation Pokemon, "Should I send Drapion or Luxray to grandpa's lab?" Riolu thought about it for a moment. Then he shook his head, "You think I should try and get them to learn to work together?" Riolu nodded, "Any idea of how to do that?" Riolu shrugged. Harry sighed, "Well let's worry about it later. Come on." The pair packed up Harry's stuff and left.

* * *

Three days later, Harry met a lovestruck couple near a cliff face. Not having any experience with romance, he decided to just ignore them but they noticed him.

"Hey little guy!" cried the blonde woman, "My darling Dan and I are looking for someone to have a double battle against!" Harry paused. His only experience with double battles was the Tag Battle Competition and he'd had Dawn by his side for that. However when he thought about it, he realized this was a good time to have Drapion and Luxray work together.

"Okay," he said, "But can you please not do all that lovey dovey stuff while we're battling."

"When you're older, you'll understand," said and brown haired man and kissed his girlfriend's cheek. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Well I'll worry about that when I'm older then," he said, "So let's see your Pokemon."

"Go my dear Cradily!" cried the woman and an ancient Pokemon that Harry had never seen in real life appeared. It looked like a predatory tunicate with eight tentacles protruding around its head.

" _Cradily the Barnacle Pokemon and evolved form of Lileep. In ancient times, Cradily lived in warm seas and used its eight tentacles to catch its prey._ "

"Let's help Serena, Armaldo!" cried Dan and another Pokemon that was extinct for centuries appeared. This one somewhat resembled a mantis shrimp with sharp claws and a long tail.

" _Armaldo the Plate Pokemon and evolved form of Anorith. Armaldo is a good swimmer but prefers being on land. It is clad in sturdy armour and skewers prey with its rectractable claws._ "

Harry took out two Poke Balls and hesitated. This might not be a good idea but he wasn't sure what else to do to get Drapion and Luxray to start getting along. The two had been aggressive towards each other for the last three days. Luxray was held back from actually fighting Drapion by fear, although of course he refused to admit it, while Drapion was held back by Harry's other Pokemon, mainly Drifloon, whom Drapion seemed to feel calmest around. Drifloon had always been good at making friends so Harry was glad she was there to help keep Drapion in check.

"Well?" said Dan, "Are we going to battle or not?" Harry realized he'd been looking at Luxray and Drapion's Poke Balls for too long.

"Luxray, Drapion, take your positions!" he called and released the pair. They landed side by side, saw who their partner was, and stared at Harry in disbelief, "Guys I need you to cooperate with each other." Drapion and Luxray glared at each other but then faced their opponents.

"Cradily Energy Ball"

"Armaldo Water Pulse!"

Cradily fired a green orb from its mouth and Armaldo formed a blue orb between its claws before throwing it.

"Dodge!" Harry shouted and both Luxray and Drapion leapt in opposite directions, to dodge the Energy Ball and Water Pulse whilst also getting as far away from each other as they could, "Luxray Shock Wave on Armaldo and Drapion use Dark Pulse on Cradily!" Both Pokemon obeyed launching a bolt of electricity and black rings respectively.

"Armaldo Protect!" called Dan. A green sphere surrounded Armaldo's body and blocked the Shock Wave.

"Cradily Amnesia!" called Serena. Cradily glowed pink for a moment and stayed where it was as Dark Pulse hit it.

"Cross Poison on Cradily!" Harry called and Drapion crossed his arms which glowed purple.

"Intercept it with X-Scissor!" ordered Dan and with surprising speed, Armaldo used its tail to propel itself over Cradily and crossed its arms which glowed blue. Drapion and Armaldo collided and struggled to overpower each other, "Aqua Tail!" Armaldo's tail became covered in water before it broke off the X-Scissor and swung it into Drapion' midsection, knocking him backwards.

"Luxray Wild Charge on Cradily!" Harry called and while Drapion was occupied with Armaldo, Luxray surrounded himself with electricity and slammed into Cradily. The Barnacle Pokemon barely seemed to notice looking more interested in its partner who was holding off Drapion, "Crunch!" This time Luxray provoked a reaction by clamping his fangs, which were glowing white unlike when he used Bite, onto one of Cradily's tentacles, just where it joined the body, causing it to squeal.

"Cradily, Confuse Ray!" shouted Serena but Cradily couldn't look Luxray in the eyes because of pain and the angle at which Luxray was biting its tentacle. Instead it just shook itself, trying to get Luxray to let go.

"Armaldo use Slash to help Cradily!" ordered Dan and Armaldo stopped fighting Drapion and turned, slashing Luxray with its powerful claws and knocking him away from its partner. Harry smirked when he realized how close Armaldo was.

"Shock Wave!" he ordered and Luxray unleashed a blast of electricity at point blank range. Armaldo stumbled into Cradily but then grunted and shrugged it off, "Hold on! Isn't Armaldo a Rock and Water type?"

"No," Dan said, "It's actually a Rock and Bug type."

"But the pokedex said it went swimming!" Harry said, "Most Rock types that aren't also Water types hate water."

"Well Armaldo's not one of them," Dan said and shrugged.

"Alright then Drapion, use Cross Poison on Armaldo!" Harry ordered and Drapion crossed his arms and lunged at Armaldo.

"Dodge and use Aqua Tail!" called Dan and Armaldo stepped aside and swung its water covered tail. Drapion was knocked right towards Luxray. The Gleam Eyes Pokemon's eyes widened in horror as the Ogre Scorp Pokemon landed on top of him.

"LuxRAY!" roared Luxray and instinctively let off a huge blast of electricity whilst Drapion was still on top of him. Drapion roared and quickly struggled away before angrily swinging his tail and knocking his partner to the ground. He turned and roared at Luxray who took a step back but sparked defiantly, looking ready to launch an electric shock at any moment.

"Luxray, Drapion stop!" Harry shouted desperately.

"Oh dear," said Serena, "It seems your Drapion and Luxray are bad at working together."

"Drapion!" roared Drapion, seeming to have forgotten about Cradily and Armaldo altogether.

"Luxray!" Luxray snarled back, also not paying attention to the two Fossil Pokemon.

"Armaldo…"

"Cradily…"

"Ancient Power!"

Both Cradily and Armaldo became surrounded by white aura, then formed white shapes around them which levitated in the air before solidifying into hard rocks. Both Ancient Powers went flying towards Luxray and Drapion. Both Pokemon noticed the attacks but too late. The two Ancient Powers slammed them into the cliff face, knocking them out at the same time.

"Yay!" cried Serena, "You and Armaldo were wonderful darling!"

"So were you and Cradily, my love!" said Dan and they kissed. Harry rolled his eyes and went to Luxray and Drapion.

"Well that was a disaster," he said. Luxray and Drapion were glaring at each other. Harry was annoyed. They'd been looking like they wanted to kill each other for the past three days, "Guys, stop being so unreasonable."

Luxray glared at his trainer. Harry knew damn well why Luxray was being unreasonable. Drapion didn't. Harry hadn't wanted to tell Drapion that Luxray was actually afraid of him but it seemed like the only way to move forward.

"Luxray if you don't tell Drapion what your problem with him is, then I will!" he warned. Luxray snarled at him. Harry was slightly surprised that Luxray was directing his aggression towards him, but reasoned that the Gleam Eyes Pokemon was just really stressed, scared and angry.

"Drapion?" Drapion said, looking at Luxray. The Gleam Eyes Pokemon gave him a hateful look and stalked away. Harry sighed.

"Riolu, keep an eye on Luxray," he said. His Starter Pokemon nodded and followed Luxray. Harry sat down, looking tired. Dan and Serena were gone, leaving him and Drapion alone, "Drapion, do you want to know why Luxray hates you so much?" Drapion nodded, "It's because he's afraid of you."

"Drapi?" Drapion looked genuinely surprised.

"When he was a Shinx, Luxray had a very nasty experience with a Drapion," Harry explained, "He very nearly got torn apart by one. All that aggression he shows towards you is actually fear. The trouble is you just make it worse by constantly wanting to get into a fight with him." Drapion was silent, absorbing what his trainer had just said.

* * *

Riolu found Luxray hunting. The Gleam Eyes Pokemon could see through anything except the back of his own head so Riolu didn't bother trying to hide himself. A poor Bidoof however was pounced upon by Luxray. Instinctively, Riolu rushed forwards.

"Riolu!" he cried. Luxray glared at him, with one paw on the back of the terrified Bidoof's neck. He was a predator and this is what a predator does but Riolu wasn't willing to let him eat the Bidoof. After a moment, Luxray relented and let the Bidoof go. He sat down and looked at Riolu silently.

Riolu scowled at him. Luxray was just too stubborn to admit that he was afraid of Drapion. Drapion wasn't helping by constantly trying to pick fights with him, but the Ogre Scorp Pokemon was the ignorant one in this rivalry and had no way of knowing what J's Drapion had done to Luxray as a Shinx, unless someone told him.

"Luxray," Luxray grumbled.

"Rio!" Riolu said angrily. Luxray looked at him, "Riolu, Rio, Ri?" Luxray said nothing but instead rolled his eyes and made a gesture towards Riolu with his paw, then his own chest, asking Riolu to read his feelings with Aura. Riolu did so and realized that Luxray refused to acknowledge his fear of Drapion because he didn't want to seem weak. Riolu softened a bit and put a hand on Luxray's shoulder. Luxray looked at Riolu's hand but didn't shrug it off. He understood what Riolu was saying to him; that everyone was afraid of something and that it was okay to admit it. Luxray sighed.

"Ray," he muttered. Riolu smiled and Luxray followed him back to Harry.

* * *

When Luxray and Riolu returned, Drapion had calmed down. Harry looked between the two rivals.

"Luxray, Drapion knows," he said simply. Luxray scowled at him but then looked at Drapion. Drapion approached but not in the aggressive way he usually did. Instead he moved hesitantly to show Luxray he meant no harm.

"Drapion, Drapi," said Drapion and held out an arm. Luxray looked at the two large claws on the end of said arm for a long moment, remembering J's Drapion and the pain he had suffered from its Crunch attack. Not to mention the fear that he was going to die. Without Melanie's Gardevoir and her Healing Wish, Luxray probably wouldn't be standing here right now.

"Ray," he growled and didn't take Drapion's claw but just nodded to him curtly. Harry, Riolu and Drapion figured that was the best they were going to get from the stubborn and traumatized Electric type. Drapion lowered his arm and nodded back. They weren't friends and they probably never would be, but at least Luxray and Drapion didn't look like they wanted to kill each other anymore.


	25. Wallace

Harry heard of the Wallace Cup as he was headed towards Veilstone City. Contests didn't interest him much, but he had a feeling that Dawn would be eager to participate as the Wallace Cup only happened once a year, and each year it took place in a different region, making it even rarer than each region's Grand Festival. Harry decided to stick around at Lake Valor for a while and see if his friends showed up.

Harry had sent Luxray and Drapion to his grandfather's lab after the two of them made peace with each other – or at least as close to peace as they were likely to get – and replaced them with Eevee and Leafeon. He was training with the siblings and his other Pokemon at the edge of Lake Valor.

"Eevee, Leafeon Shadow Ball!" he ordered and the siblings formed and fired their Shadow Ball's towards Vespiquen who hovered above them, "Vespiquen Protect!" Vespiquen surrounded herself with a green barrier and the Shadow Ball's exploded harmlessly. Harry nodded in approval, "Okay Vespiquen, your Protect is perfect so you take a break. Spiritomb!" Spiritomb floated forwards, "I'd like you to help Eevee, Leafeon and Drifloon learn how to fire multiple Shadow Balls in quick succession. You can be a teacher." Spiritomb nodded eagerly and floated in front of his three students to demonstrate the technique Harry decided to call Rapid Fire Shadow Ball.

About an hour later, Drifloon and Leafeon had gotten the hang of it, but Eevee was still struggling, unable to form and fire Shadow Balls as quickly as her brother or the two Ghost types. Harry noticed she was getting frustrated. Spiritomb could fire five Shadow Balls in one second, Drifloon and Leafeon could fire four but Eevee was struggling to fire two.

"Okay that's enough," Harry said and knelt beside Eevee, patting her head comfortingly, "Its okay Eevee, I know you're trying. Have a break." Harry noticed Leafeon smiling slightly at the kind way he was speaking to the Verdant Pokemon's little sister. Spiritomb floated towards Eevee and gave her that smile which looked evil but Harry and all his Pokemon knew it was actually a warm smile. Eevee smiled back.

A crowd of people gathered excitedly at Lake Valor for the arrival of Wallace. Although Wallace was primarily a coordinator, he also had history as a Gym Leader so Harry was interested in meeting him too, athough, disliking crowds, he kept his distance. For once, having Spiritomb follow him around was actually working in Harry's favour as most people didn't want to come anywhere near the Forbidden Pokemon. Spiritomb had stopped caring about that; he was just happy that his trainer and the members of Harry's team accepted him.

"There he is!" screamed a woman and a moment later a young man riding on the back of a beautiful Milotic came surfing across Lake Valor. Milotic let out a musical call as it approached. Harry took out his pokedex.

" _Milotic, the Tender Pokemon and the evolved form of Feebas. Arguably the worlds most beautiful Pokemon, Milotic has the ability to calm even the most vicious conflicts._ "

Milotic stopped by the edge of the lake and Wallace jumped from its back. Immediately he was surrounded by fans and the media. Harry grimaced. He felt sorry for the guy.

Then Milotic took everyone's attention of Wallace by using Safeguard and Aqua Ring, making its already beautiful form even more breathtaking. Wallace was finally given some space and noticed Harry. Well actually he noticed Spiritomb, who was very difficult to miss.

"I beg your pardon everyone," Wallace said cordially, "But I have just spotted something fascinating." He approached Harry.

"Don't go near that thing, Wallace!" screamed a teenaged girl, "It might be dangerous!"

"You should stick with beautiful Pokemon like Milotic!" called a man. Wallace frowned.

"Do not judge one by their appearance," he said calmly, "Feebas is an ugly Pokemon but evolves into the beautiful creature you see before you." He gestured at Milotic then turned towards Harry. Harry was suddenly exceptionally nervous. He hadn't expected any cameras to be focussed on him. He felt like he was about to throw up.

"Rio," Riolu held his hand and gave it a squeeze. Spiritomb gave his signature smile. A few members of the crowd screamed but Wallace just looked at Spiritomb with fascination.

"I have never seen a Spiritomb in real life before," Wallace said, "What is your name?" This was twice as nerve wracking as the time Harry had met Cynthia, not because of Wallace himself but because of all the onlookers and cameras.

"Harry," Harry mumbled, deciding not to mention his second name. The last thing he needed was the media pestering him about his grandfather.

"It is nice to meet you," Wallace said kindly. Milotic came onto dry land and joined its trainer, "And you are very lucky to have a Spiritomb in your possession."

"I know that," Harry said and put a hand on Spiritomb's keystone. Wallace looked at the cameras then back at Harry.

"It is a bit overwhelming," he said quietly. Harry nodded. Spiritomb noticed how uncomfortable his trainer was.

"SPIRITOMB!" he boomed and everyone except Wallace, Harry, Riolu and Milotic shrieked in terror. Spiritomb gave the crowd a very intimidating look. Wallace looked mildly amused, then walked back towards the lake with Milotic beside him. The cameras stopped focussing on Harry who sighed with relief.

"Thanks Spiritomb," he said and Spiritomb nodded.

* * *

Harry went back to Lake Valor a couple of days later. It was no longer crowded with people. On the contrary it seemed deserted.

"Eevee come on out," Harry said. Eevee appeared, "Are you ready to do some more practice with Shadow Ball?"

"Eevee," Eevee nodded. Harry stepped back and let Spiritomb show Eevee how to do it like he had the day before.

An hour later Eevee was able to get two Shadow Balls fired in a second, but that was all. She looked like she was about to cry. Leafeon, apparently sensing his sister's distress, came out of his Poke Ball to comfort her.

"Spiri, Spiritomb," Spiritomb said encouragingly but Eevee was still upset.

"Hey Eevee," Harry said hoping to cheer her up, "Why don't you jump through Spiritomb? You like doing that." Eevee smiled slightly and then jumped through the Forbidden Pokemon who chuckled. Harry had a feeling that whenever a Pokemon went through him, it was about as close to being tickled as Spiritomb could get.

"People have trouble seeing past appearances," said a voice and Harry was surprised to see Wallace walking towards him. Harry glanced nervously behind Wallace to see if there was a crowd or cameras following him but he was alone.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked.

"I managed to get a day off," Wallace said and opened a Poke Ball. His Milotic appeared and Wallace stroked one of the fin like extentions falling down from its head, "Go and relax Milotic." Milotic nuzzled him fondly before diving into the lake. Wallace looked at Spiritomb.

"Spiritomb hates going in Poke Balls," Harry said, "So he follows me everywhere. But unlike Riolu, people are scared of him."

"Many people are shallow," Wallace said, "It's a shame but it's true. People are afraid of your Spiritomb just because it's different."

"I know that," Harry assured him, "But if they got to know him, they'd know he just wants to make friends with people and Pokemon."

"I can see evidence of that right now," Wallace said, watching as Spiritomb and Leafeon continued helping Eevee practice her Rapid Fire Shadow Ball.

"Harry!" shouted a delighted voice. Harry and Wallace looked up and saw Dawn running towards them, carrying Piplup and followed by Ash, Brock and Pikachu. She skidded to a halt when she saw Wallace, "Oh my…"

"Who's your friend?" asked Wallace.

"This is Dawn," Harry said since Dawn seemed speechless at the moment, "Hey Ash, Brock! How are you guys doing?"

"We're fine," Ash said, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I knew Dawn wouldn't want to miss the Wallace Cup so I decided to wait for you," Harry said cheerfully. He then noticed Pikachu and Spiritomb watching each other warily.

"Pika, Pika," Pikachu greeted cautiously.

"Spiritomb," Spiritomb nodded at him curtly in return.

"Well it's nice to meet you all," Wallace said, "I'm Wallace."

"We know," Brock said, "It's great to meet you in person."

"Yeah," Dawn said having snapped out of her stupor, "I've wanted to meet you since I was four years old! This is such an honor!"

"You're lucky you caught Wallace on his day off," Harry said. Wallace nodded.

"Normally I'm swarmed by the media," he said, "It can be quite exhausting. Oh by the way, you have yet to meet my partner. Milotic, come and say hello!"

Milotic appeared from the lake and swam towards them. Harry had met it before and Ash and Brock had encountered several Milotic before coming to Sinnoh, but Dawn was in awe.

"It's so beautiful!" she said.

"Lup," Piplup agreed in her arms.

"Hey Harry I got the Cobble Badge," Ash said cheerfully.

"Well done," Harry said, "I got the Fen badge. And as you can see I caught some new Pokemon." Eevee waved cheerfully. Leafeon nodded cautiously.

"Miloo," Milotic said coming onto the shore. Piplup jumped out of Dawn's arms and he and Pikachu approached the beautiful creature, "Milo, Milotic?" Piplup nodded and eagerly jumped onto Milotic's back. Pikachu jumped on behind him and Eevee decided she wanted to go for a ride too. Milotic happily went back into the water and carried the three small Pokemon around the lake.

"Wallace, I'm going to enter the Wallace Cup," Dawn said, "Can you give me any advice on my contest techniques?"

"Of course," Wallace said, "But aside from Piplup, I don't know what Pokemon you own."

"Okay come on out everybody!" Dawn called and released Pachirisu, Buneary and Ambipom. Wallace appraised the three Pokemon, "Everyone, this is Wallace the Contest Master." All three Pokemon waved at Wallace. He examined each of them and smiled approvingly.

"They look like they have been raised and trained very well," he complimented.

"Thanks," Dawn said then her face saddened, "But I didn't even get past the appeal round for two contests in a row."

"Wait what!" Harry yelped, "You lost another contest after Hearthome?" Dawn smiled sadly.

"For once I'm glad you don't watch contests," she said, "You didn't see how I messed up my last one. Zoey said I need to focus less on my combinations and more on the Pokemon themselves."

"Well whoever Zoey is, she's right that you should show off your Pokemon as much as possible," Wallace said, "But you do need to prove to the crowd how well you've not only trained them, but bonded with them."

"What do you mean?" asked Dawn.

"Do you play with your Pokemon?" asked Wallace. Dawn blinked at the strange question.

"Um, not really," she admitted.

"Training your Pokemon is important," Wallace said, "But it's also important to get to know them as individuals. To have fun and enjoy each others company instead of constantly preparing for your next performance. Only when you're truly bonded with your Pokemon can they really shine. Take Riolu for example," he gestured to Harry's little Fighting type Pokemon who seemed surprised that Wallace was using him to demonstrate his point; the Contest Master hadn't seemed to notice him until now, "His species can only evolve into Lucario by having a very close relationship with either their trainer or, in the wild, another Pokemon."

"But I can't play with my Pokemon in the middle of a performance," Dawn said.

"I do with my Pokemon, especially Milotic," Wallace replied, "When we were younger we were like you and focussed on the performance more than each other. But as we grew older, Milotic and I started to enter contests for fun and treat it as a game rather than a serious competition. To us winning or losing doesn't really matter. In fact sometimes I wish I'd lost contests more often so I wouldn't have to deal with all the publicity."

Dawn was quiet for a long moment. She looked at Piplup as Milotic brought him, Pikachu and Eevee back to the shore. The Tender Pokemon seemed to have enjoyed itself and so had its three passengers. Piplup waddled happily towards Dawn who picked him up. Spiritomb and Pikachu kept their distance from each other.

"I guess I have been more worried about my performances than my Pokemon," she admitted.

"It's a common mistake for both coordinators and trainers," Wallace said, "They forget that being victorious in battle or in contests is not the most important thing about living with Pokemon."

Harry found himself listening closely to Wallace's advice too. He didn't have a habit of playing with his Pokemon either and felt a flicker of guilt as he remembered the horrible way he'd trained Buizel back in Hearthome City. He was lucky Buizel was such an easy going and forgiving Pokemon.

"I do much more training than playing with my Pokemon too," Harry admitted, "Riolu's hit me around the head a few times because I work them so hard."

"As I said, training your Pokemon is important," Wallace repeated, "But don't let it take over your entire relationship with them."

"That is such great advice Wallace," said Ash, who now had Pikachu on his shoulder once more. Spiritomb was still watching Pikachu without any expression.

"So Dawn, how about you actually show me some of your contest techniques?" asked Wallace.

"Really?" Dawn asked, then hesitated, "My last two appeals in the Hearthome and Solaceon Contests weren't good enough to make it through to the next round."

"Nonetheless I would like to see them," Wallace said.

"Okay," Dawn agreed, "Shall I use one Pokemon or two?"

"You decide," Wallace said. Dawn looked down at Piplup who nodded and hopped out of her arms. Everyone moved back to give Dawn and Piplup some space.

"Okay Piplup use Whirlpool!" Dawn called and Piplup raised his arms and created a Whirlpool above his head, "Now Bubblebeam!" Piplup shot a Bubblebeam straight into the Whirlpool and destroyed the whole thing, creating a shower of sparks. Wallace clapped.

"Impressive," he said, "Your Piplup is quite powerful but the combination was simple. Sometimes simple combinations are the ones that give you a better chance of victory. It gives the audience more time to admire the Pokemon themselves."

"People don't admire my Spiritomb," Harry muttered. Wallace glanced at him, then at Spiritomb. He noticed that Spiritomb was still looking at Pikachu.

"Does your Spiritomb have a problem with Pikachu?" he asked.

"An Aura Guardian with a Pikachu sealed him in a keystone five hundred years ago and it made him hate the whole species," Harry explained. He hesitated for a moment then said, "Spiritomb nearly killed Pikachu once, so I had to stop travelling with these guys."

"I see," Wallace said, "And how does Pikachu feel about Spiritomb?" he addressed Ash this time.

"Wary," Ash said, "But you don't hate Spiritomb, do you Pikachu?" Pikachu shook his head.

"Maybe Spiritomb and Pikachu should have a battle," Wallace suggested.

"Last time we did that, Pikachu nearly died," Harry told him.

"But I assume that last time you didn't have a Milotic to calm Spiritomb down?" Wallace said.

"He's got a point there you guys," Brock said.

"Okay," Ash decided, "Pikachu ready for another battle with Spiritomb?" Pikachu nodded and jumped off his shoulder. Spiritomb floated forwards, still expressionless.

"Spiritomb Shadow Ball!" Harry called and Spiritomb formed a single Shadow Ball and fired it.

"Iron Tail!" Ash called and Pikachu swung his tail and sent the Shadow Ball flying straight back into Spiritomb. When the smoke from the exploding Shadow Ball cleared, Spiritomb seemed irritated.

"Ominous Wind!" Harry called and Spiritomb summoned the gust of wind which washed over Pikachu.

"Volt Tackle!" called Ash and Pikachu charged once the Ominous Wind died down, surrounding himself with electricity as he moved, and ramming into the Forbidden Pokemon. Spiritomb boomed and glared angrily at Pikachu. Milotic watched Spiritomb carefully, ready to intervene if the Ghost and Dark type showed signs of losing his temper.

"You okay?" Harry asked. Spiritomb didn't pay attention to him at first. He seemed to be struggling to control himself. Milotic was currently just watching, not doing anything to calm Spiritomb, but fortunately the Forbidden Pokemon managed to gain control of his instincts by himself and nodded, "Good. That's much better than last time, Spiritomb."

"Spirit," Spiritomb said.

"Rapid Fire Shadow Ball!" Spiritomb launched five Shadow Balls in the span of one second. Pikachu avoided three of them before deflecting the fourth with Iron Tail and being hit by the last one, "Okay cease fire, Spiritomb!" Harry called before Spiritomb got carried away. Spiritomb allowed Pikachu to pick himself up.

"I think that's enough for now," Wallace said, "Spiritomb and Pikachu have both been raised very well and Milotic did not need to intervene in order to stop Spiritomb from losing control."

"Milo," Milotic said and nodded at Spiritomb happily. Spiritomb smiled slightly and nodded back.

"You did great Spiritomb," Harry said, "I'm proud of you."

"Harry, Dawn implied that you have no interest in contests," Wallace said, "But perhaps what Spiritomb needs to gain acceptance from other people is proof that it does not want to cause harm. I suggest you enter the Wallace Cup with Spiritomb as your partner." Harry looked at Spiritomb.

"What do you think, Spiritomb?" he asked. Spiritomb gave his signature smile and bobbed up and down in a nod.

"Hey Ash," Dawn said suddenly, "I just remembered that Buizel's never entered a contest before. Obviously he prefers battling, but it would be a shame if he went through all that training with me and never showed himself off to a crowd." Ash opened a Poke Ball and his Buizel appeared.

"Buizel, Dawn trained you for contests but you've never actually taken part in one," he said, "What do you say we change that by entering the Wallace Cup together?" Buizel thought about that for a moment, then shrugged. Ash took that as a yes.

"So I'll see you all at the Wallace Cup?" Wallace asked.

"Definitely!" Dawn said excitedly.

"I look forward to it," Wallace said, "Milotic, how about we give our new friends a little display as thanks for an enjoyable time?" Milotic nodded happily and Wallace stepped in front of the lake. Milotic dived into it and swam near the center of Lake Valor, "Milotic use Safeguard!" Milotic glowed green, "Now Aqua Ring!" Milotic surrounded itself with rings of water. Harry had seen this combination when Wallace first arrived at Lake Valor but the others were awestruck. Wallace glanced very briefly at Harry, remembering that he already knew this combination. He decided to finish the performance with a display of Milotic's power rather than just its beauty, "Finish with Twister!"

"Miiiilooooo," Milotic cried and spun its tail. Normally when a Milotic used Twister it came out of its spinning tail fins towards the opponent. This time it came out of its tail fins as they spun like a fan but in reverse, surrounded Milotic's entire body. Milotic added more power into the Twister by sticking its tail underwater, pulling the lake water into the spinning cyclone. Then the Twister burst apart showering Milotic with sparkles as it lowered itself gracefully back into the lake.

"Wow!" gasped Dawn. Wallace smiled as Milotic approached him.

"Excellent performance as always, Milotic," he said and Milotic nuzzled him affectionately, "Now my friends, I must be off. I'll see you in a few days at the Wallace Cup." With that the Contest Master jumped onto a rock with impressive agility and leapt towards the lake. Milotic shot past him using Surf as it moved to create a wave which hid both Wallace and his partner from view. When the wave died down, Wallace and Milotic were gone.

* * *

Later everyone was relaxing in the Pokemon Center. Dawn was grooming Buneary's fur and showing Harry how to do the same for Eevee.

"Excuse me, are you Ash Ketchum?" Lake Valor's resident Nurse Joy asked. Ash looked up in surprise.

"Yeah, that's me," he said.

"There's a phone call for you from Snowpoint City," Nurse Joy said. Mystified, Ash followed her out of the lobby. Harry glanced at Dawn and Brock who both shrugged.


	26. Restaurant Double Battles

Harry, Ash, Dawn and Brock all waited at the harbour for Ash's friend May to arrive. As a ship came into view, a Beautifly came flying towards them and landed on Ash's head.

"Hey," Ash said, "You're May's Beautifly right?" The Beautifly nodded.

"Pika, Pika," Pikachu greeted Beautifly and waved to it happily.

"Beautifly," Beautifly flew down and twirled around Pikachu happily. Harry took out his pokedex.

" _Beautifly the Butterfly Pokemon and one of the final forms of Wurmple. Beautifly can be surprisingly aggressive and is very possessive of pollen._ "

"Hey guys!" a voice yelled at them as the ship got closer. A brown haired girl stood on the deck waving. Ash and Brock waved back. Once the girl got off the ship, her Beautifly returned to her and landed on her head instead. She chuckled fondly but focussed her attention on Ash and Brock. "Ash, Brock, it's been ages! How have you guys been?"

"We've been great," Brock said, "It's good to see you again."

"Yeah it's been too long May," Ash said happily. May noticed Dawn and Harry who were respectfully giving the three old friends a bit of space. Harry's Spiritomb was even further away so that he wouldn't frighten May.

"Hello," May said cheerfully, "I'm May. You must be Dawn and Harry. Ash told me about you on the phone."

"Nice to meet you," Dawn said eagerly, "I look forward to facing you in the Wallace Cup."

"Piplup!"

"Hello May," Harry said nodding to the older girl politely.

"Rio!" Riolu waved in a friendly manner.

"Spirit," said Spiritomb and smiled as he approached. Harry touched his keystone fondly and by that gesture, May understood that the Forbidden Pokemon meant no harm. She looked a little freaked out by Spiritomb's smile but to her credit, all she did was take out her pokedex and scan him. Harry noted that her pokedex had a different description of Spiritomb than the one his pokedex had given him.

" _Spiritomb, the Forbidden Pokemon. It frightened people centuries ago and caused them to seal it in a keystone. However recent studies of the species suggest that people of the past overreacted._ "

"Wait so other people have caught Spiritomb?" Harry said surprised. His grandfather had never been able to study Harry's Spiritomb as the Forbidden Pokemon had never been to his lab so if Professor Rowan was the one who had done these "recent studies" he must have been able to study another Spiritomb at some point in his career. It must have been before Harry was born since he'd been around his grandfather's lab his entire life. Either that or some other Professor had a chance to study Spiritomb. Quite honestly, Harry thought Spiritomb was as rare as most Legendary Pokemon. He shrugged off his surprise. "Ash and I will be entering too. Wallace said that I should give my Spiritomb a chance to shine instead of just scaring everyone."

The group walked along the harbour and headed up the long flight of steps, still talking as they went. Pikachu was on Ash's shoulder as usual, Riolu walked beside Harry and Beautifly and Spiritomb both brought up the rear. May mentioned how her family was doing and the fact that her rivals, Drew and Harley, had both beaten her in contests while she was in Johto. Eventually they reached a large picnic area at the top of the steps.

"Ash told me you guys met Wallace," May said, "You're so lucky!"

"Yeah he gave us some great advice," Dawn said happily.

"And he even gave us a performance with his Milotic," Ash said, "You would have loved it."

"Oh I wish I'd been here sooner," May said then shrugged, "But then again if I hadn't stopped at Snowpoint City, I wouldn't have my newest Pokemon. Come on out, Glaceon!" She took out a Poke Ball and tossed it. A beautiful Ice type Pokemon that could easily be recognized as one of Eevee's evolved forms appeared.

"Wow, a Glaceon," Harry said and took out his pokedex.

" _Glaceon, the Fresh Snow Pokemon and one of the evolved forms of Eevee. It lowers its body heat to freeze its fur. The hairs then become frozen needles it can fire_."

"I took Eevee to a cave near Snowpoint City with an Ice Rock inside it," May said, "When he touched the rock he evolved." She patted Glaceon's head fondly.

"I got an Eevee and a Leafeon in Mr Backlot's Trophy Garden. They're siblings," Harry said and opened the two siblings Poke Balls. Leafeon nodded at Glaceon and Eevee eagerly ran up to him, examining him with fascination. Glaceon smiled at his pre-evolved form.

"So are you hoping to become an Eeveelution trainer?" asked May. Harry shrugged.

"Well it's hard enough to find one Eevee, let alone all their evolutions," he said, "If I get a chance to catch all of them, I'll take it in a heartbeat but right now I'm happy with the Pokemon I have."

"That's good," May said. Then Ash's stomach rumbled. May smirked, "Some things never change."

"Yeah, I haven't eaten in a while," Ash said.

"Well it's a good thing I made reservations at the finest restaurant in Sinnoh while I was in Snowpoint City," May said cheerfully, "Only problem is I've never been here so I don't know where it is."

"I think I do," Brock said, "Are you talking about the Seven Star Restaurant?" May nodded, "Come on then."

When they reached the restaurant they were greeted by a waiter. May explained she had made reservations for five humans and their Pokemon. The waiter was very cordial and didn't even seem particularly fazed by Spiritomb's presence. He led them to a door which burst open and a boy came rushing out, looking red in the face.

"You lost your battle?" the waiter asked politely.

"I'll go and train some more!" said the boy, "I'm eating here if it's the last thing I do!" He stopped for a moment when he saw Spiritomb looming behind the group. Harry and Spiritomb were both used to that kind of reaction so they ignored it. Riolu rolled his eyes. The boy rushed out of the restaurant.

"Battle?" asked Ash.

"Follow me," said the waiter and led them through the doors into a room with a familiar rectangular shaped battlefield painted on the floor. A beautiful young woman and a handsome young man faced the visitors. Harry raised an eyebrow. Even May, who had arranged this, seemed slightly surprised.

"At Snowpoint City, they didn't say this place had a battle arena," she said.

"Well in order to eat here for free, you must defeat our owner and his fiancé in a double battle," explained the waiter, "Otherwise it is very expensive."

"That's pretty cool," Ash said.

"One problem," Brock said, "There's an odd number of us."

"How is that a problem?" Harry asked and shrugged, "We've all got more than one Pokemon. One of us will just have to partner up twice."

"I'll do that," Ash offered.

"That makes sense since you're the most skilled battler here," Harry said, "Brock prefers raising Pokemon, May and Dawn are coordinators and I'm not as experienced as you are." The others all nodded. Ash seemed flattered by the praise. Pikachu rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"Well that settles it," May said, "Ash will partner up with two of us. I'd like the battle with Dawn."

"Really?" Dawn looked surprised, "Wouldn't you rather battle with Ash or Brock?"

"Nah, I had enough experience with them in Hoenn and Kanto," May said then glanced as Ash and Brock appologetically, "No offence guys." The older boys showed no signs of feeling insulted. May turned back to Dawn, "I'd like to see what you can do both as a battler and a coordinator."

"Okay," Dawn shrugged.

"Ladies first," Harry said and he, Ash and Brock stepped back while Dawn and May stepped forwards.

"So you are our next customers," the young man bowed, "I am Roman and this is my beautiful fiancé Kylie."

"It's nice to meet you and I hope you can give us an entertaining battle," Kylie said and curtsied. She glanced at Spiritomb with a fearful expression Harry had seen on many faces but was too polite to comment.

"Alright will the four participants please choose their Pokemon?" said

"Blaziken on stage!" cried May and released a large Fire and Fighting type that vaguely resembled a cockfighting chicken and the Egyptian Deities Horus and Ra appeared. Harry was fascinated and took out his pokedex.

" _Blaziken the Blaze Pokemon and the final form of Torchic. Blaziken's legs are so powerful it can easily leap over a thirty story building._ "

"Okay Piplup, ready?" asked Dawn and Piplup nodded and jumped off her head where he had been perched. He looked absurdly small next to Blaziken but the Blaze Pokemon just gave him a friendly smile.

"Drifloon let's go!" called Kylie and released a Drifloon identical to Harry's.

"I choose Girafarig!" called Roman and a Pokemon resembling a giraffe with another head on its tail appeared.

" _Girafarig the Long Neck Pokemon. The head on its tail has a small brain and will often use Crunch if Girafarig is approached from behind. Its tail keeps watch while it sleeps._ "

"Okay, battle begin!" yelled the referee rather melodramatically.

"Piplup use Bubblebeam on Drifloon!" Dawn called.

"Drifloon deflect that Bubblebeam!" called Kylie and Drifloon spread its arms and spun very quickly. The bubbles were batted away by Drifloon's quick spinning. Harry raised an eyebrow. He hadn't known Drifloon could do that.

"Girafarig use Psybeam!" called Roman and Girafarig fired a multi-coloured beam at Blaziken from the horns on its head.

"Blaziken jump and use Double Blaze Kick on Girafarig!" called May.

"Double Blaze Kick?" Harry looked at Ash and Brock but judging by their expressions, this combination was unfamiliar to them too.

Blaziken jumped over the Psybeam and both feet blazed with fire. It then slammed both feet into Girafarig, one after the other. The Long Neck Pokemon was hurled into the wall.

"Oh I get it," Harry said, "Double Kick and Blaze Kick rolled into one. Smart."

"Girafarig is unable to battle!" bellowed the referee.

"Wow May," said Dawn, "Your Blaziken's really strong."

"Thanks," May said.

"Drifloon use Ominous Wind!" called Kylie and Drifloon fired an Ominous Wind. Blaziken stepped in front of Piplup and stood there calmly, taking the Ominous Wind as if it was just a light breeze. Harry was impressed. Badass wasn't a word commonly used in his vocabulary but that was how he would describe Blaziken.

"Piplup Bubblebeam!" called Dawn. Piplup jumped onto Blaziken's shoulder and fired Bubblebeam at Drifloon.

"Blaziken Fire Spin!" ordered May and Blaziken launched a Fire Spin that made Harry's Chimchar's Fire Spin seem pitiful in comparison. The bubbles were caught up in the Fire Spin and spun in the flames before the fusion move washed over Drifloon, sending the Balloon Pokemon crashing into the wall.

"Drifloon is unable to battle and that means the customers win!" yelled the referee.

"Alright!" May and Dawn squealed at the same time and gave each other a high five as if they'd known each other for years.

"Congratulations," said Kylie, "Our chef will begin making your meal."

"If you wish, you may stay to watch your friends battle," offered Roman, "So which of you wish to go next?"

"Well it's been a while since Brock and I have battled together," Ash said and looked at his old friend. Brock smiled and nodded, "Okay I choose Chimchar!" Ash called and the Chimp Pokemon appeared.

"Sudowoodo let's go!" shouted Brock and released the tree like Pokemon that was actually a Rock type.

"I choose Munchlax!" cried Kylie and sent out a small but chubby green Pokemon.

"Hey I've got a Munchlax too," May said excitedly.

"Snorlax let's go!" cried Roman and a massive Pokemon, three times the size of its pre-evolved form emerged. If Munchlax was chubby then this Pokemon could only be described as obese. Dawn scanned the two Pokemon.

" _Munchlax the Big Eater Pokemon. It wolfs down its weight in food once a day, swallowing food whole with almost no chewing_."

" _Snorlax the Sleeping Pokemon and the evolved form of Munchlax. It is very lazy and spends most of its time either eating or sleeping. Docile by nature, children sometimes bounce on its belly._ "

"Chimchar use Flamethrower on Snorlax!" Ash ordered and Chimchar fired a stream of flames at Snorlax. The Sleeping Pokemon shrugged off the attack.

"My Snorlax's Ability is Thick Fat," said Roman, "Fire and Ice type moves won't do much damage." Ash grunted with irritation. He had a Snorlax of his own, but that one's Ability was Immunity.

"Munchlax use Metronome!" called Kylie and Muchlax waved its fingers to and fro in the air. A wave of water erupted from underneath it, drenching Snorlax as Munchlax rode towards Sudowoodo and Chimchar with a Surf attack. The super effective move knocked both Pokemon off their feet.

"Now Snorlax use Body Slam!" ordered Roman and Snorlax lumbered towards the two downed Pokemon.

"Chimchar Dig!" ordered Ash and Chimchar dove underground just in time but Sudowoodo felt the entire weight of the extremely heavy Snorlax slam down on top of him.

"Sudowoodo, Flail!" yelled Brock and Sudowoodo flailed around desperately trying to get Snorlax off his back. With the Sleeping Pokemon's massive body pressing down on him he didn't have much mobility but nonetheless Snorlax shifted slightly, just enough for Sudowoodu to roll out from underneath it, "Now use Hammer Arm!"

"Sudoooowoodo!" cried Sudowoodo and his arm glowed white before he smashed it into Snorlax. The Sleeping Pokemon crashed to the ground.

"Snorlax is unable to battle!" the referee announced and almost before he could even finish his sentence, Chimchar burst out of the ground underneath Munchlax throwing it backwards.

"Chimchar, Flame Wheel!" Ash yelled, hoping that Munchlax had Pickup instead of Thick Fat. Apparently it did because Chimchar's Flame Wheel knocked it out.

"Munchlax is unable to battle!" cried the referee, "The customers win!"

"My turn," Harry said and stepped up beside Ash. Brock went to join Dawn and May on the sidelines.

"Chimchar, that Surf did a number on you, so take a break," Ash said and Chimchar nodded as he recalled him, "Pikachu, let's make sure Harry gets to eat with us." Pikachu nodded and jumped off his shoulder and onto the battlefield.

Harry looked down at Riolu but then hesitated. He remembered that Spiritomb had controlled himself when he fought Pikachu at Lake Valor and Wallace had claimed that Milotic hadn't needed to intervene. Furthermore Spiritomb would be fighting _with_ Pikachu this time instead of against him.

"Spiritomb go," he said, Spiritomb nodded and floated next to Pikachu. Ash glanced at Harry but didn't say anything. Pikachu looked nervously at his partner.

"Oh why couldn't you use your adorable little Riolu?" asked Kylie but took out a Poke Ball, as did her fiancé, "I choose Golduck!" A blue Duck like Pokemon with a gem on its forehead appeared.

"And I choose Linoone!" called Roman and sent out a long, sleek Pokemon that resembled a ferret. Harry scanned both Pokemon.

" _Golduck the Duck Pokemon and the evolved form of Psyduck. A powerful swimmer, Golduck is unbothered by even rough, stormy seas and therefore sometimes rescues people from shipwrecks._ "

" _Linoone the Rushing Pokemon and the evolved form of Zigzagoon. Although Linoone can run extremely fast, it can only do so in a straight line and has to slow down in order to turn._ "

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt on Golduck!" ordered Ash and Pikachu launched a bolt of electricity at the Duck like Pokemon.

"Mud Sport Linoone!" ordered Roman and Linoone rose into its hind legs and formed a ball of mud in its paws. It then threw the mud into the air and it broke apart, splattering both Linoone and Golduck just before the electricity struck. Golduck staggered but the attack didn't do nearly as much damage as it should have.

"Golduck use Fury Swipes on Pikachu!" ordered Kylie and Golduck lunged and scratched Pikachu three times with its claws.

"Shadow Ball Spiritomb!" Harry called and Spiritomb blasted Golduck away from its partner with a well aimed Shadow Ball. Pikachu smiled at him gratefully but Spiritomb just looked back at Linoone, who was approaching fast.

"Shadow Claw!" ordered Roman and Linoone's claws glowed black and extended far beyond their natural length. It slashed Spiritomb and knocked him to the ground.

"Golduck use Zen Headbutt on Spiritomb!" called Kylie. Harry smirked as the gem on Golduck's head glowed blue and a light blue "helmet" surrounded its skull before it rammed into Spiritomb. Spiritomb just looked at Golduck, mildly amused, "What?"

"Spiritomb's both a Ghost type and a Dark type," Harry explained, "Psychic type moves won't do anything. Use Dark Pulse!"

"Get away Golduck!" screamed Kylie but too late. The black rings hurled Golduck clear across the room and into the wall.

"Golduck is unable to battle!"

"Linoone use Shadow Claw on Spiritomb!" ordered Roman and Linoone lunged at the Forbidden Pokemon while Kylie recalled her Golduck.

"Pikachu protect Spiritomb with Iron Tail!" ordered Ash and Pikachu jumped between Spiritomb and Linoone before turning his tail into iron and swinging it at Linoone's claws. The two Pokemon struggled for overpower each other.

"Spiritomb get above Linoone and use Hyper Beam!" Harry called and Spiritomb floated above Linoone and formed a Hyper Beam.

"Pikachu move away from Linoone!" ordered Ash. Pikachu waited until Spiritomb had fired the Hyper Beam before jumping away.

"Protect!" ordered Roman and at the last second Linoone surrounded itself with a green sphere. The Hyper Beam exploded but when the smoke cleared, Linoone was unharmed. "Use Headbutt on Pikachu!" Linoone lowered its head rammed into Pikachu. Spiritomb whirled around to face Linoone, "Turn around and use Shadow Claw!" Linoone turned around. As mentioned by the pokedex, it was unable to do so very quickly but Pikachu had flinched due to Headbutt and Spiritomb was still recharging from Hyper Beam.

"Linoooone!" cried Linoone and this time used both of its front paws to give Shadow Claw twice the power. Spiritomb was sent crashing to the ground. Then he grunted angrily and rose into the air but his ghostly form was spasming slightly. That Shadow Claw must have hurt quite a lot.

"That creature's more resilient than I expected," Roman admitted, "But one more Shadow Claw should do it, Linoone!" Once again, Linoone used both claws to give its attack more power.

"Quick Attack!" ordered Ash and Pikachu lunged at Linoone from the side, ramming into it and knocking it sideways before it could land the finishing blow on Spiritomb.

"Dark Pulse!" ordered Harry and Spiritomb fired the Dark Pulse at Linoone, blasting it into the wall.

"Linoone is unable the battle! The customers win!"

"Way to go, Spiritomb," Harry said, "You worked well with Pikachu."

"Yeah and you were great too buddy," Ash said to Pikachu.

"Pikachu!" said Pikachu then turned to Spiritomb, "Pika?" Spiritomb looked at him expressionlessly for a long moment. Pikachu hesitantly reached out and touched his keystone as he had seen Harry do when May arrived. Spiritomb neither retreated nor attacked.

Then finally he smiled. Anyone who didn't know him would assume he was about to attack Pikachu due to his expression. Pikachu stepped back nervously. His only real interactions with Spiritomb up until now were the two times Spiritomb had tried to kill him and their sparring match at Lake Valor, so at first he didn't realize Spiritomb had accepted his gesture of friendship.

"Spiritomb," Spiritomb explained. Pikachu relaxed as he understood that Spiritomb no longer saw him as an enemy.

"Well it looks like Spiritomb and Pikachu's days as enemies are over," Brock said approvingly.

"That's great!" Dawn said happily, "Now let's celebrate with a great meal!"


	27. The Wallace Cup Part 1

Harry was starting to regret agreeing to enter the Wallace Cup. He even had to wear a freaking suit! He'd never been comfortable in formal clothes and the added pressure of impressing the crowd with a Pokemon most of them were afraid of was making it worse.

Spiritomb had been persuaded to go in his Poke Ball for once, so that he could make a more impressive entrance. Dawn had even given Harry a Poke Ball Capsule which would expel smoke when Spiritomb emerged.

Harry watched the other participant's appeals but they passed in a blur. Even May, Ash and Zoey's performances went by without Harry really paying them any attention. The one performance he really focussed on was Dawn's because she had been just as nervous as he was before her turn. Her reasons were different as she had failed in the appeal round twice before, and unlike Harry, she actually had a real passion for contests, but it comforted Harry to know he wasn't the only one who was terrified.

As Dawn went towards the stage a girl with curly peach coloured pigtails who had performed before her came walking towards her. Dawn was looking back at her friends when the girl approached, and bumped into her by accident, causing her to stumble to the floor.

"Watch where you're going!" snapped the girl angrily as she got up and straightened her dress.

"Sorry," Dawn mumbled. The girl huffed and strode past her.

"She's just nervous!" Zoey snapped at the girl, "You didn't have to speak to her like that."

"If she's so scared, she shouldn't be in the Wallace Cup," the girl said arrogantly before strutting away.

Dawn nearly dropped her Poke Ball at the beginning of her performance but managed to regain her composure.

"Ambipom, Spotlight!" shouted Dawn and she and Ambipom began their performance with Ambipom landing on both her tails and using them to hold herself upright, "Use Bounce then Swift!" Ambipom used her tails to propel herself to a height that would be impossible using only her legs before spraying the huge pool below with Swift which shot sprays of water into the air, "Finish with Focus Punch on the water!" Ambipom somersaulted down, landed gracefully on her feet then focussed all her power into the fists on the end of each tail.

"Ambi!" she cried, smashing both glowing fists on the end into the water. The shock wave from the blows shot water right to the other end of the pool which then splashed and curled into the air in the shape of a heart. Dawn then called attention back to Ambipom and herself by having Ambipom create a heart shape with her own tails while Dawn leaned forwards slightly between them and spread her arms. The crowd cheered.

"Ambipom did an excellent job of showing off its tails!" said Mr Contesta the Head Judge.

"Remarkable!" said Mr Sukizo.

"Ambipom showed real enthusiasm throughout her performance," said Nurse Joy.

"Dawn showed off her Ambipom's power with simple but effective moves which enabled us to really see Ambipom and her bond with her trainer," Wallace finished, standing up and spreading his arms theatrically.

* * *

"I think she nailed it," said May as she and the others watched the screen in the changing rooms.

"Right," Zoey nodded, "She showed off Ambipom's tail as well as the power she achieved during her training with Ash perfectly, but was careful not to hide Ambipom from the audience in the process."

"And now Ladies and Gentlemen!" called Marian, the commentator of all contests in Sinnoh, "Our final performances comes from a young man who happens to be the grandson of Professor Rowan himself," Harry groaned. He wasn't sure how Marian had learned that but wished she hadn't, "Harry Rowan!" Harry was quite literally paralyzed with fear. His Pokemon were in their Poke Balls but he felt alone right now. Then Dawn came back from her performance, accompanied by Ambipom.

"Good luck," she said, "Show those people that Spiritomb's not something they should be afraid of." Harry remembered that this performance was more for Spiritomb than it was for him.

Harry wasn't quite sure how he made it to the stage but he did. The crowd roared at him as he stood in front of a huge pool where the participants made their appeals. He felt a panicky sensation in his stomach. He should not have agreed to this.

Then he caught Wallace's eye. The Contest Master nodded to him very subtly. Harry thought about Spiritomb's wish to just be accepted. That gave him the strength to throw his Poke Ball.

"Spiritomb, take your position!" he shouted and the Ball Capsule unleashed a huge cloud of black smoke. In the heart of the smoke, Spiritomb's swirly green eyes opened and he chuckled wickedly. A few members of the crowd gasped in fear as the smoke cleared to reveal the Forbidden Pokemon.

"Spiritomb!" Spiritomb greeted everyone with that warm smile that looked evil.

"Face me and do Rapid Fire Shadow Ball!" Harry called and Spiritomb whirled to face his trainer and fired five Shadow Balls in quick succession. The crowd gasped as the Shadow Balls exploded all around Harry. Harry trusted Spiritomb not to hit him but still had to look the Forbidden Pokemon straight in the eye to stop himself from flinching as the powerful orbs shot towards him. It also helped that he was so nervous he was virtually paralyzed. The five exploding Shadow Balls shrouded him in smoke, but not a single one touched him thanks to Spiritomb's impeccable aim. Harry briefly thought about how inaccurate Rapid Fire Shadow Ball had been when he first caught Spiritomb.

When the smoke cleared Harry was completely unharmed and felt slightly more confident.

"Silver Wind!" he called and Spiritomb used his newest move, one that May's Beautifly had helped him learn only yesterday. The pattern on Spiritomb's keystone glowed silver as he summoned a silvery wind with crescent blades which whirled around him. The water below became choppy, just as it had when Drifloon used Ominous Wind to force Lumineon out of the water back when Harry was battling Crasher Wake. However since Spiritomb was using Silver Wind around the whole field rather than just aiming it straight down as Drifloon had done, water was pulled out of the pool and spun around Spiritomb. The crescent blades in the Silver Wind made the water sparkle and shine, yet the bright glow of the pattern on Spiritomb's keystone was still visible.

The Silver Wind died away along with the water but the air around Spiritomb was sparkling. The Forbidden Pokemon turned a full three hundred and sixty degrees so that everyone could get a look at him. He grinned, chuckled and winked at the judges. Finally he floated towards his trainer and placed his keystone on the stage in front of him.

"Hyper Beam," Harry told him and Spiritomb fired one huge Hyper Beam straight up into the sky, withdrawing into his keystone at the same time. Once the Hyper Beam had finished, Spiritomb's keystone glowed brightly once more, signalling the end of the performance.

The crowd cheered. Harry smiled at the keystone and picked it up. It was actually remarkably heavy but would be heavier if Spiritomb's body was manifesting itself right now. He had no idea if the appeal would get him and Spiritomb into the next round or not but it was nice to hear people cheering enthusiastically instead of screaming fearfully when they saw the Forbidden Pokemon. He looked at the judges.

"A unique performance with a unique Pokemon," said Mr Contesta.

"Remarkable," said Mr Sukizo.

"Spiritomb really showed off its unique keystone, which had previously just been its prison but today assisted its performance and exemplified the fact that people just misunderstand it," said Nurse Joy.

"It seems to me that Harry's taken the time to get to understand his Spiritomb's individual nature, rather than judging it by its appearance!" Wallace boomed, "The trust he showed by having Spiritomb launch five Shadow Balls at him in quick succession is a true display of the bond between trainer and Pokemon!" The crowd roared in agreement. Harry smiled at Spiritomb's keystone as he carried it off stage.

* * *

Harry hadn't really expected to make it past the first round but apparently the fact that he showed off Spiritomb's real personality and eagerness to be accepted was enough to get him through.

"Spiritomb!" Spiritomb said delightedly when he saw the results. Harry put a hand on his keystone. Sometimes he wished he was actually able to hug Spiritomb.

"Looks like the crowd loves you, Spiritomb," he said, "People finally see how special you are." Spiritomb beamed. Harry looked over at Dawn, Ash, May and Zoey. Ash, May and Zoey were all smiling but Dawn had a slightly stunned expression on her face as she stared at the results.

"I made it through," she said faintly, "I actually made it through!"

"We all knew you could do it," Zoey assured her, "And Harry congrats on showing off your Spiritomb. Although next time I suggest you don't hide it so much. You're lucky that Spiritomb's uniqueness caused it to stand out, even when it was hidden, but that might not work next time."

"I'm not planning for there to be a next time," Harry said, "I only entered this contest for Spiritomb's sake." Zoey looked like she wasn't sure whether to be approving or not. Harry didn't know her well enough to be aware of this, but Zoey had only recently begun to respect people who participated in both contests and battles.

At the edge of the locker room, the girl Dawn had bumped into before she went on stage was also looking up at the screen that showed the people moving onto the next round. She was wearing a look of intense disappointment because she wasn't on the list.

* * *

Harry found himself facing off against May in the first contest battle round. Having never battled her before and having seen how powerful her Blaziken was, he doubted he could win this match but he was going to try anyway. He actually didn't want to win the Wallace Cup but he might as well have some fun now that he'd recovered from his nerves.

"Spiritomb, take your position!" Harry called and the Forbidden Pokemon emerged, chuckling and grinning excitedly.

"Venusaur on stage!" cried May and released a huge, four legged, bluish-green Pokemon with leaves and a flower on its back appeared. There was no way this Pokemon could swim but the two platforms on which Harry and May stood stretched a good way into the pool so there was enough space for Venusaur to move around. Harry wanted to get out his pokedex but the five minute time limit had started before he and May threw their Poke Balls (which seemed a little unfair to him) so he didn't have time as ten seconds had already passed.

* * *

Back in the changing rooms, Dawn looked up Venusaur instead.

" _Venusaur the Seed Pokemon and the evolved form of Ivysaur. By spreading the broad petals of its flower and catching the sun's rays, it fills its body with power_."

Dawn looked back up at the screen as Harry made the first move in his first ever contest battle.

* * *

"Spiritomb, Dark Pulse!" Harry ordered and Spiritomb fired the black rings at Venusaur.

"Use Light Screen!" called May and Venusaur formed a yellow barrier around herself. The Dark Pulse slammed into the barrier and Venusaur winced but Spiritomb's attack couldn't get through. Harry's points dropped a bit. He frowned. All of Spiritomb's moves were Special Attacks so as long as Light Screen was in effect, it was going to be difficult to really do anything against Venusaur. "Alright Venusaur, Razor Leaf!"

"Saur!" cried Venusaur and shot sharp leaves from beneath the large leaves on her back.

"Silver Wind!" Harry called and Spiritomb's keystone glowed before he sent a powerful Silver Wind straight at the incoming Razor Leaf. The Bug type move sent the Grass type move flying back into Venusaur. The Razor Leaf did virtually nothing to the Grass and Poison type and Silver Wind couldn't penetrate Light Screen, but Harry noticed that May's points had gone down. He realized that in a contest battle, he couldn't win by pure power. Even with Venusaur's Light Screen in effect, he could win if he was clever enough.

"Vine Whip!" May shouted and a dozen thick vines shot out from beneath Venusaur's leaves and struck Spiritomb a dozen times, hard enough to knock him onto the platform on Harry's side of the battlefield, "Good, now use Safeguard!" Venusaur formed a crystalized green barrier around her body. Harry raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Why use Safeguard now?" he muttered to himself before giving his next command, "Rapid Fire Shadow Ball!" Spiritomb's fired five Shadow Balls in a row which slammed into Venusaur's Light Screen. Although Light Screen weakened the attacks, Venusaur was still shoved back towards May.

"Petal Dance!" cried May and Venusaur launched a flurry of pink petals towards Spiritomb.

"Dark Pulse!" Harry ordered and Spiritomb sent multiple black rings which collided with Petal Dance and created an explosion. Without waiting for her trainer to command her to do so, Venusaur launched a second Petal Dance "Into your keystone!" Spiritomb disappeared into his keystone. The patterned rock that had once been his prison was now acting as a shield against Petal Dance. Harry now had more points than May. She noticed.

"Venusaur lift up the keystone and throw it into the pool!" she ordered and Venusaur wrapped two vines around the keystone and tossed it straight into the water, knocking Harry's points down a bit lower than May's.

* * *

Backstage, Brock was explaining May's strategy to Dawn, who was just as confused as Harry was about Venusaur's use of Safeguard.

"In the past, May has been forced to save Petal Dance as a last resort because it causes confusion to the Pokemon using it," Brock said, "Now that Venusaur knows Safeguard, she doesn't have to worry about Petal Dance's side effect."

* * *

"Spiritomb doesn't need to breath you know," Harry informed May while Spiritomb was still underwater. As soon as Venusaur's Light Screen wore off (It had lasted exactly two minutes) he gave his next command. "Spiritomb use Hyper Beam!" There was a glow from underwater and then a massive beam exploded out towards Venusaur.

"Light Screen quick!" May yelled and Venusaur managed to set up another Light Screen just in time but Hyper Beam still sent her sliding backwards.

"Just stay underwater until you've recharged!" Harry yelled, hoping that Spiritomb could still hear him. Apparently he could because he didn't reappear.

"Not going to work!" May said, "Vine Whip and pull it out Venusaur!" Venusaur shot a dozen vines straight into the water and started feeling around the bottom of the pool. It took her a while to find Spiritomb, long enough for the clock to reach the halfway point. Finally Venusaur grunted triumphantly and wrenched Spiritomb's keystone out of the water.

"Dark Pulse!" Harry ordered and Spiritomb popped out of his keystone and launched another Dark Pulse. Venusaur grunted when it collided with Light Screen but held firm.

"Throw it down and use Leech Seed!" May called and Venusaur hurled Spiritomb onto Harry's side of the battlefield before firing a seed from the bulb on her back. It landed on Spiritomb and vines wrapped around him and started training his energy.

"Spiritomb get into your keystone again!" Harry called and Spiritomb obeyed. As soon as the Leech Seed had nothing but the keystone to grip, it lost its ability to drain Spiritomb's energy. The seed fell onto the stage having lost its power, "I bet you never thought your keystone would be so useful did you, Spiritomb?"

"Spirit," Spiritomb grinned as he emerged. May had lost over half her points. Harry was surprised that he was actually winning against her and she seemed to be too. There was a minute and thirty seconds left.

May was frustrated. Spiritomb's keystone enabled him to counter anything Venusaur threw at him. Even Leech Seed could be shrugged off thanks to that thing.

"Spiritomb Rapid Fire Shadow Ball!" Harry ordered and Spiritomb shot five Shadow Balls.

"Vine Whip!" yelled May and Venusaur hastily shot out her vines and knocked away all the incoming Shadow Balls making Harry lose more points.

"Silver Wind!" Harry called and Spiritomb summoned more silvery wind but once again Venusaur's Light Screen absorbed halved the amount of damage it could do.

"Razor Leaf!" called May and this time Venusaur managed to hit Spiritomb with a flurry of leaves knocking him backwards. Now May had more points and there was exactly one minute left. Despite Light Screen, Venusaur was panting but Spiritomb was getting tired too.

"Venusaur use Razor Leaf!" cried May and Venusaur shot another barrage of sharp leaves towards Spiritomb.

"Into your keystone!" Harry called and Spiritomb withdrew and the leaves either missed it of were deflected by the enchanted keystone, which was harder than a normal rock due to the spell that had been used to imprison Spiritomb, "Silver Wind!"

"Spirit!" cried Spiritomb and the keystones pattern glowed silver again before he emerged and shot a powerful Silver Wind at Venusaur. The timing was perfect because Venusaur's Light Screen faded so she received the full force of the attack. There were forty five seconds left.

"Hang on, Venusaur!" yelled May as her points went down to a quarter. Venusaur was wincing and looked exhausted.

"Venusaauur!" Venusaur bellowed and a green glow surrounded her body. Her already huge plants seemed to grow in size. Harry's points shot down to a quarter like May's as Overgrow took effect.

"Spiritomb, finish it with Hyper Beam!" Harry yelled and Spiritomb fired the powerful beam. Even if Venusaur set up another Light Screen there was no way she could take the hit in her condition. There were thirty seconds left.

"Vine Whip and jump!" yelled May. It seemed absurd for such a massive, not to mention heavy creature to jump, but Venusaur used a dozen vines to propel her huge body into the air. Harry's points dropped and everyone gasped at the sight of a leaping Venusaur. Judging by Wallace's shocked expression, even he had never witnessed this before, "Alright let's end this with Razor Leaf and Petal Dance!"

"Venusaur!" Venusaur cried and launched Razor Leaf from under her leaves and Petal Dance from her bulb, both whilst she was still in the air.

"Tooommmb!" bellowed Spiritomb as the combination overwhelmed him sending him tumbling to the ground. A moment later Venusaur's bulky form crashed back down on May's side of the battlefield.

"Spiritomb!" Harry shouted. He then heard a beeping sound and saw red X's appear on all the Judges panels. With fifteen seconds remaining, Spiritomb had been defeated and May had won. Not only that but she was also the first person since the Aura Guardian who had ever defeated Harry's Spiritomb in battle.

"And that's it!" shouted Marian, "Harry's Spiritomb was knocked out by May's amazing, jumping Venusaur!" the crowd burst into applause.

"Way to go, Venusaur!" cried May and Venusaur turned as she hugged her around the neck. She couldn't reach all the way round because of Venusaur's size but neither of them seemed to mind. Harry smiled sadly and approached Spiritomb who stirred weakly.

"Spiritomb are you alright?" Harry asked. Spiritomb looked around, realized he had lost and looked rather crushed by his first defeat in five hundred years. "You were brilliant. You don't need to feel ashamed. You performed really well in the appeal round and you fought really hard just now." Spiritomb smiled slightly but it wasn't the usual evil looking warm smile he gave. It was more of a sad smile.

Then both of them looked up in surprise as people began chanting in the crowd.

"Spiritomb! Spiritomb! Spiritomb!" Spiritomb's signature smile appeared and if he was capable of crying, Harry was fairly sure he would be doing so right now. The chanting grew louder and soon the whole crowd was yelling Spiritomb's name. Since Spiritomb wasn't capable of crying, Harry decided to do it for him. He glanced across at May and Venusaur who were beaming at him. Spiritomb rose a bit shakily into the air and nodded at Venusaur. Then he followed his trainer off stage.

 **Writing contest battles is actually rather difficult because I need to make them seem like the time limit actually is five minutes. On Microsoft Word I do that by making a full contest battle, one where Pokémon don't get knocked out within the time limit, approximately two and a half pages. Hopefully that makes the battles approximately five minutes long.**

 **Now you guys know that Light Screen and Reflect lasts for two minutes in this story. And Safeguard too, which also blocks the side effects of moves like Petal Dance and Outrage. I think Safeguard should be able to do that in the games. I assume it doesn't because people could potentially sweep easily with a Safeguard and Outrage using Dragonite or something like that.**


	28. The Wallace Cup Part 2

The second day of the Wallace Cup was over and the final eight would be facing off on the third day. Harry wasn't upset about getting knocked out in the first round because Spiritomb had gotten the attention he deserved from the crowd. Ash, Dawn, Zoey and May had all made it into the final eight.

Harry was sleeping with Riolu at the foot of his bed. Spiritomb was in the corner, inside his keystone. He still wasn't entirely comfortable in Poke Balls but had grown to appreciate his keystone a lot more during the Wallace Cup.

Suddenly there was a thud. Riolu leapt upright and Harry turned on the light. Brock, the only one of the trio who was still awake, looked up and raised an eyebrow. Ash had somehow managed to end up on the floor.

"Ash you do have a bed you know," Brock said smirking.

"I know," Ash rubbed the back of his head and so did Pikachu, "I just dreamed I was in the middle of a really tough battle." Someone knocked on the door.

"Hey guys, you okay in there?" came May's voice from outside.

"Yeah we're fine," Brock called, "Come on in." Dawn, May and Zoey all entered.

"Ash was just being clumsy," Harry said smirking at the older boy.

"Hey I can't control my dreams," Ash said defensively. Everyone just chuckled. Ash smiled and then stood up and put on his hat, jacket and jeans.

"Where are you going?" asked Dawn.

"Just for a walk," Ash said, "I'll see you guys later." He and Pikachu left.

* * *

Ash and Pikachu walked beside Lake Valor, admiring the view. The moonlight reflected off the water. Ash leaned on the railing beside the lake and Pikachu hopped off his shoulder.

"I'm so glad Harry and I decided to compete," Ash said, "It's made Spiritomb and Buizel happy and it's great that Spiritomb doesn't hate you anymore."

"Pika, Pika," Pikachu nodded. They looked out over the lake and then noticed ripples in the water, "Pika?"

"What's that?" Ash asked as a light glow emerged from the middle of the ripples. A tiny, transparent form emerged from the water and floated through the air. The transparent creature was shaped somewhat like a fairy or pixy with two long thin tails but apart from that, neither Ash nor Pikachu could make out any features. However they both had the distinct impression that the creature was looking at them. Then the creature disappeared back into the lake. Ash and Pikachu stared at each other.

* * *

Ash burst back into the hotel room with Pikachu on his heels.

"Whoa!" said Brock, "What's the rush?"

"I saw something in Lake Valor," Ash said, "Like a light. Or some kind of shape. I don't know; it was blurry but something came out of the lake and then disappeared."

"It was probably just a Water Pokemon," Harry said shrugging.

"Well if it was, it's not a species I've ever seen," Ash said. Dawn, May and Zoey then came into the room.

"Ash why are you still making so much noise?" groaned May.

"I saw a Pokemon in Lake Valor!" Ash said excitedly, "Or something. I mean it must have been a Pokemon but it was… it's like it was there and it wasn't there at the same time." Everyone except Dawn looked sceptical. Dawn was remembering something.

* * *

 _Dawn and Piplup stood on the edge of Lake Verity. Piplup had just blown away a swarm of Ariados with Bide and was exhausted but was not focussing on his injuries because of the transparent shape emerging from the water._

 _"Is that a Pokémon?" Dawn asked. Piplup shrugged. Technically every creature that wasn't human was classified as a Pokémon, but this creature seemed different somehow. It seemed unique. The transparent creature seemed to be staring at them, although they couldn't see its eyes. Then it descended back into the lake._

* * *

"I believe you," Dawn said and everyone looked at her, "I had an experience just like that at Lake Verity. Professor Rowan believed there was a Legendary Pokemon living there."

"Really?" Ash said. Dawn nodded.

"I think I might have seen it," she said, "But it was… sort of like a ghost but not a Ghost Pokemon. Not like Spiritomb for example." She gestured to the keystone in the corner.

"You know, when I was looking for the Ice Rock to evolve Eevee, I passed Lake Acuity," May said thoughtfully, "I didn't see anything out of the ordinary but I heard rumors of a strange Pokemon living there."

"I did too when I was a little girl," Zoey said, "I'm from Snowpoint City and people believed there was a strange Pokemon living in the lake. I went there loads of times hoping to see it but I never did, so I assumed it was just a story."

"Hey Harry, your grandfather's a professor," Dawn said, "Do you know anything about these Pokemon?"

"Only their names," Harry said, "Grandfather said they're called Mesprit, Azelf and Uxie. He didn't know anything else, not even which one of them lives in which lake. His field is Pokemon Evolution and Legendary Pokemon don't evolve."

"Well I guess we have no way of knowing what you saw, Ash," Dawn said regretfully.

* * *

It was the last day of the Wallace Cup. Ash, Dawn, May and Zoey were all still in the competition and Dawn had just won a battle against a girl with a Pelipper using her Pachirisu. Now it was Ash's turn and he was facing off against a coordinator named Kyle for a spot in the final eight.

"Buizel, I choose you!" Ash sent out Buizel who landed on the edge of the water, ready for battle.

"Lanturn let's go!" shouted Kyle and a fish like Pokemon with two orbs on its antennae appeared.

* * *

Harry took out his Pokedex.

" _Lanturn the Light Pokemon and the evolved form of Chinchou. It is often nicknamed The Deep-Sea Star because its light is bright enough to shine from great depths in the ocean._ "

* * *

"Lanturn use Charge!" ordered Kyle and Lanturn dove underwater and the orbs on its antennae glowed yellow. Its whole body became surrounded in yellow sparks.

"Buizel get that Lanturn out of the water!" Ash called, "Sonicboom!" Buizel somersaulted and sent a powerful Sonicboom skimming across the surface of the water, neatly splitting it as it went. Lanturn burst out of the water a second later.

"Big mistake Ash," said Kyle smugly, "Thunderbolt!" Lanturn, now above Buizel, launched a powerful blast of electricity from the larger orb on its antennae. Buizel yelped in pain as he was electrocuted.

"Hang in there, Buizel!" Ash called while Kyle smirked.

"You made a mistake by relying only on Buizel throughout this competition," he told Ash, "I know your Buizel's fighting style from watching your previous battles but you don't know how to counter my Lanturn's attacks. Use Ice Beam!"

A minute had gone by when Lanturn launched an Ice Beam from its antennae. Ash and Buizel smirked.

"I know how to counter this one," Ash said, "Aqua Jet!" Buizel shot into the air… right _towards_ the Ice Beam!

* * *

"What's he doing?" Harry yelped in the changing room.

"Buizel's never managed an Ice Aqua Jet before!" cried Dawn.

* * *

The Ice Beam hit Buizel and froze the water around him but Buizel just kept going. Kyle and Lanturn stared, too shocked to do anything until the Ice Aqua Jet slammed into Lanturn and sent it flying. Upon hearing Lanturn's cry of pain, Kyle snapped out of his stupor.

"Buizel Water Gun!" ordered Ash. Buizel burst out of the ice and squirted a Water Gun towards Lanturn.

"Hydro Pump!" Kyle countered and Lanturn's much stronger Hydro Pump blasted through Buizel's Water Gun effortlessly and sent him flying.

"On your feet Buizel!" Ash shouted and Buizel inflated his floatation sac and floated for a few seconds before landing on Ash's platform. By now there was still three minutes and fifteen seconds left but both Kyle and Ash were already down to nearly half their points, "Alright use Water Pulse!" Buizel hurled a Water Pulse across the pool towards Lanturn.

"Thunderbolt!" cried Kyle and Lanturn countered the attack with another bolt of electricity which sent a shower of water raining down on the battlefield. Which was exactly what Ash and Buizel needed.

"Sonicboom!" Ash called and with lightning speed thanks to his Swift Swim, Buizel sent the shock wave flying into Lanturn throwing it onto the platform on which Kyle was standing, "Now use Aqua Jet!"

"Watch out Lanturn!" Kyle shouted but on land, Lanturn could only flail about helplessly until Buizel crashed into him and sent him flying. Kyle reacted quickly, "Hydro Pump on the wall!" Lanturn faced the wall and fired a stream of water from its mouth straight towards the wall behind it. The water pressure catapulted Lanturn back into the pool. They were now at the half way point in the time limit and Ash was just slightly ahead in points.

"Buizel Water Pulse!" Ash ordered. Buizel threw another Water Pulse towards Lanturn.

"Ice Beam then Thunderbolt!" ordered Kyle and Lanturn froze the Water Pulse with Ice Beam before shattering it with Thunderbolt, sending shards of ice flying at Buizel who yelped in pain, sending Ash's points down to less than Kyle's, "Now use Hydro Pump!"

"Dodge it and use Sonicboom!" Ash ordered and Buizel jumped over the Hydro Pump before swinging his tail.

"Thunderbolt!" Kyle ordered and Lanturn fired another bolt of electricity. There was an explosion when the attacks collided. Their points were now even again and there was one minute and fifty seconds left, "Lanturn use another Charge!" Lanturn started sparking once again as it built up electrical power.

"Buizel use Water Pulse!" Ash ordered and Buizel hurled another Water Pulse, this time successfully hitting Lanturn and causing more damage than usual thanks to the water the attack picked up from the pool. Kyle smirked however.

"Charge raises Lanturn's Special Defence as well as the power of its Electric attacks," he said, "Finish this with Thunderbolt!" Lanturn unleashed another powerful Thunderbolt and Buizel yelled in agony. When the attack stopped Buizel was, miraculously, still standing, but only until the clock reached fifty five seconds. The Judges panels beeped and showed a red cross when Buizel collapsed.

"And there we have it!" cried Marian, "After a difficult and impressive battle between these two young men, Kyle's Lanturn managed to defeat Buizel, moving him into the final four!"

"Alright!" yelled Kyle and Lanturn splashed in the water excitedly. Ash smiled as he recalled Buizel and thanked him for a great battle.

* * *

"Hey Ash congratulations on mastering Ice Aqua Jet!" Dawn said when Ash returned to the changing rooms.

"I should teach that technique to my Buizel too," Harry said.

"Thanks guys," Ash said, "Buizel and I were really in sync in that battle."

"Pika Pika!" said Pikachu happily and hopped onto Ash's shoulder.

"Riolu!" said Riolu, pointing to the video screen which showed Zoey facing off against her next opponent. Spiritomb was hovering beside Riolu and watching too.

After Zoey's victory it was May's turn and she also won, putting all three friends, as well as Kyle, into the top four. Next up it was Dawn against Kyle.

"Careful Dawn," Ash warned, "Kyle is really tough."

"I know," Dawn said, "No need to worry."

* * *

On stage, Marian introduced Dawn and Kyle, although everyone in the audience had to know them by now, and started the battle.

"Alright Crawdaunt, let's go!" shouted Kyle, throwing his Poke Ball as soon as the time limit started.

"Piplup, spotlight!" called Dawn and her Starter Pokemon appeared to face off against a Pokemon that looked like a crab with a star on its forehead.

* * *

In the changing rooms, Harry scanned Crawdaunt.

" _Crawdaunt, the Rogue Pokemon and the evolved form of Corphish. It has an extremely violent nature and loves to battle. Because of this it is a difficult Pokemon to raise._ "

"I guess that's a testament to Kyle's talent then," Harry muttered then looked up at the screen.

* * *

"Piplup Bubblebeam!" Piplup opened his beak and unleashed a Bubblebeam towards Crawdaunt.

"Crawdaunt use Swift!" ordered Kyle and Crawdaunt fired yellow stars from its pincers which collided with the Bubblebeam and exploded on contact.

"Piplup in the pool!" called Dawn and Piplup jumped into the water.

"You too Crawdaunt!" called Kyle and Crawdaunt jumped into the pool and swam out to intercept Piplup.

"Whirlpool!" shouted Dawn. While Piplup found it easier to form Whirlpool above his head, on this occasion he was able to make the water in the pool itself spin and catch Crawdaunt in the process, spinning it helplessly. Or at least it seemed helpless until Kyle gave his command.

"Use Surf!" he shouted and the yellow star on Crawdaunt's forehead glowed as the Rogue Pokemon summoned a wave of water which completely cancelled out Piplup's Whirlpool. The wave then crashed down on Piplup, forcing him deep underwater. Crawdaunt landed on Dawn's side of the battlefield and turned. Piplup burst out of the pool a moment later.

"Use Peck!" ordered Dawn and Piplup lunged, jabbing Crawdaunt with his beak. The Rogue Pokemon seemed more annoyed than injured.

"Crabhammer!" ordered Kyle and Crawdaunt smashed its glowing white pincer into Piplup sending him flying.

"Bubblebeam!" Dawn called and Piplup backflipped before firing a Bubblebeam which struck Crawdaunt as Piplup landed on Kyle's side of the battlefield. By now the time limit was down to three and a half minutes, "Alright Piplup use Whirlpool!" Piplup summoned another Whirlpool, this time above his head instead of in the water, and hurled it at Crawdaunt.

"Crabhammer!" ordered Kyle and Crawdaunt leapt towards the Whirlpool before smashing it so hard with Crabhammer that it split apart and showered Crawdaunt in sparks. However Piplup had jumped straight towards Crawdaunt while the Whirlpool blocked its view.

"Peck!" ordered Dawn and Piplup jabbed Crawdaunt again with his beak, knocking it onto Dawn's side of the field again, "Now underwater Piplup!"

"Use another Surf Crawdaunt!" ordered Kyle as Piplup dived into the pool. Crawdaunt's star glowed again and a wave of water shot up once again. Crawdaunt rode the wave which somehow pulled Piplup into it, much like he had pulled Crawdaunt into his Whirlpool earlier. Crawdaunt landed on Kyle's side of the field but Piplup had disappeared. Dawn's points were now halfway whereas Kyle still had about three fifths of his points. There were two minutes and fifty seconds left. Piplup burst out of the water again. Kyle had apparently expected that because he ordered, "Use Dark Pulse!"

"Crawdaunt!" cried Crawdaunt and launched two beams of black rings, one from each of its pincers.

"Piplup spin and use Bide!" called Dawn. It seemed Crawdaunt's aim was a little off because Piplup was able to spin _between_ the two Dark Pulses whilst glowing white and cloaking himself in the purple energy. Kyle's points shot down quite a bit when Piplup did this.

"Crabhammer!" ordered Kyle and Crawdaunt leapt up and smashed Piplup straight into the pool.

"Piplup!" cried Dawn. Piplup didn't reemerge until after he'd released the energy he'd stored by using Bide. Light that would usually be white but was now purple from the Dark Pulse, exploded out of the pool and hit Crawdaunt.

"Crawdaunt!" Crawdaunt cried and Piplup came leaping out of the pool, directing himself towards the stunned Crawdaunt.

"Peck!" Dawn ordered and Piplup slammed into Crawdaunt beak first and knocked it out. The Judges panels signalled that the battle was over. The crowd cheered.

* * *

"Here Dawn," said Brock as Zoey got ready to battle May in order to decide who would face Dawn in the final, "If you're going to use Piplup in the last round, you need it to be in good shape." He handed Dawn a Super Potion.

"Thanks Brock," Dawn said and sprayed the Super Potion on Piplup to heal him. Dawn, Ash, Brock, Harry, Piplup, Pikachu, Riolu and Spiritomb turned to the screen to watch May and Zoey's battle.


	29. The Wallace Cup Part 3

"Beautifly on stage!" cried May as she released her Butterfly Pokemon.

"Glameow, curtain!" cried Zoey and sent out her catlike Glameow.

"Beautifly, Silver Wind!" May ordered and Beautifly fired a silvery wind with crescent blades from her wings which hit Glameow who grimaced in pain.

"Jump Glameow!" ordered Zoey and Glameow placed her tail on the ground and used it to propel herself into the air so that she was level with Beautifly.

"Use Energy Ball!" ordered May and Beautifly formed a green ball of energy in front of her body, then flapped her wings once and fired the Energy Ball at Glameow.

"Shadow Claw!" ordered Zoey and Glameow's claws glowed black and extended before she slashed through Energy Ball and continued towards Beautifly. May's points dropped so they were level with Zoey's.

"Dodge it!" called May and Beautifly dodged gracefully bringing Zoey's points down so that they were below Mays. Despite the loss of points, Zoey just smirked.

"Shadow Claw on the pool!" she ordered and Glameow slammed her claws directly into the water below. It was a true testament to how powerful Glameow really was as her Shadow Claw threw a curtain of water into the air around Beautifly. The only problem was that Glameow wasn't a great swimmer. May noticed this.

"Psychic!" she shouted and Beautifly's eyes glowed blue. Psychic energy surrounded Glameow and Beautifly lifted her into the air. Zoey didn't seem worried.

"Shock Wave!" she called and while Glameow was still in the air and under the control of Psychic, she shot bolts of electricity from her tail which travelled up the curtain of water and then struck Beautifly who screamed in pain and lost concentration. Glameow was dropped right onto Zoey's side of the battlefield, landing gracefully, even though she was soaking wet. The electricity from Shock Wave was still sparking around her.

May was down to half her points with three minutes and thirty seconds left. Zoey was in the lead by quite a significant amount. Beautifly emerged from the curtain of water, shaking off the Shock Wave but the attack had clearly hurt a lot.

"Beautifly use Morning Sun!" called May and Beautifly rose up slightly and glowed as she absorbed light from the sun in order to heal, bringing Zoey's points down again. Zoey was still in the lead but only just.

"Glameow jump and use Iron Tail!" ordered Zoey and Glameow once again used her tail to propel herself into the air. Now it was May's turn to smirk.

"Psychic on the pool!" she ordered and Beautifly focussed her Psychic on the water before jerking her head up bringing a water barrier into the air between the two Pokemon. Glameow screeched in alarm but unlike Beautifly she couldn't change direction in midair so she fell rather clumsily through the water curtain. Beautifly was suddenly right next to her. "Silver Wind!"

"Beautifly!" cried Beautifly and fired a Silver Wind at point blank range sending Glameow flying. She landed on her feet but grimaced. Zoey's points were now a good deal lower than May's.

Zoey was slightly concerned now. Her Glameow was tremendously powerful for a Pokemon that was in her first evolution stage, but after her initial display of power on the water, May had turned the tide and Glameow wasn't a strong swimmer. The funny thing was that they still had several seconds before they were even halfway through the time limit.

* * *

"Looks like Zoey might have made a mistake in her choice of Pokemon," Harry noted in the changing room.

"Well Glameow is the most powerful Pokemon Zoey has," Brock told him, "but now that May knows both Glameow's strengths and weaknesses on a water battlefield, Zoey's lost a lot of momentum."

* * *

"Glameow, Shock Wave!" ordered Zoey and Glameow shot a Shock Wave straight at Beautifly.

"Psychic!" cried May and Beautifly used Psychic to control Shock Wave and turned it around.

* * *

"You can't dodge Shock Wave but there are ways to counter it," Brock said approvingly.

* * *

"Shadow Claw!" ordered Zoey and Glameow leapt straight into her own Shock Wave, absorbing the attack into her claws which sparked with blue electricity. May lost points but she wasn't deterred.

"Duck and use Aerial Ace!" She ordered and Beautifly circled down underneath Glameow before white streaks surrounded her. She slammed into the Catty Pokemon's belly and sent it flying.

"Land on your tail, then Iron Tail!" ordered Zoey and Glameow landed on her tail before springing back towards Beautifly. Her tail glowed and she smashed it into the Butterfly Pokemon sending her crashing onto May's side of the battlefield. Zoey had regained her momentum and there was one minute and fifty seconds left. Both Beautifly and Glameow were getting tired.

"Morning Sun!" May ordered again and once again Beautifly absorbed light from the sun in order to heal. However this also left her completely exposed.

"Shock Wave!" ordered Zoey and before Beautifly could use Psychic to deflect the attack, she found herself on the receiving end of a powerful electric shock.

"It's okay Beautifly, just keep healing!" ordered May and Beautifly obeyed, completing the healing process even whilst being electrocuted. May was in the lead. There was one minute and twenty seconds left.

* * *

"Blimey, I never realized five minutes is such a long time!" Harry said. Riolu and Spiritomb both nodded, watching the television screen intently.

* * *

"Use Energy Ball!" ordered May and Beautifly formed another green orb in front of her body before flapping her wings once and shooting it at Glameow.

"Catch it with Iron Tail!" ordered Zoey and Glameow spun around and with incredible precision, positioned her glowing white tail so that the Energy Ball shot right between the curls before crushing the Energy Ball and showering herself with green sparks. With one minute left, May was now down to less than a quarter of her points while Zoey had exactly a quarter remaining, "Alright Glameow, let's use Aerial Ace!"

"Glameow!" Glameow cried and sprang into the air as white streaks surrounded her body.

"Aerial Ace too!" ordered May and the two Pokemon collided. Once again Glameow showed her remarkable strength by matching the Flying type but she couldn't overpower the Butterfly Pokemon and the explosion blasted them both back, "Silver Wind!" Beautifly sent another Silver Wind washing over Glameow. The attack went on until both coordinators had thirty seconds remaining. They were neck and neck in points.

"Glameow use your Shock Wave!"

"Energy Ball!"

Both attacks collided and there was an explosion. Twenty seconds left.

"Jump and use Fury Swipes!" Glameow leapt at Beautifly and her claws extended.

"Psychic!" Beautifly used Psychic to stop Glameow just before Fury Swipes connected and then sent her flying onto her platform. In her exhausted state, Glameow's reflexes weren't fast enough for her to land on her feet so instead she crashed onto her side. Zoey's points descended just a little lower than May's. Ten seconds left.

"Glameow…"

"Beautifly…"

"Aerial Ace!"

Both pokemon charged at each other with all of their remaining strength. At the five second mark they collided and the explosion sent both of them flying backwards. Five seconds later the battle was over. Beautifly hovered in the air, worn out but still be capable of battling. Glameow however was downright exhausted. If not for the time limit reaching its end, one more hit would finish her.

"And that's it!" cried Marian, "Times up!" Everyone looked up at the scoreboard. The difference between points was small, "After a hard fought battle, our winner is May from the Hoenn region!" The crowd cheered loudly. Zoey looked rather surprised that she'd been beaten, but she smiled and knelt beside Glameow.

"Don't feel bad Glameow," she said, "You did a really great job."

"Meow," Glameow smiled at her as she put her back in her Poke Ball.

* * *

"Amazing!" gasped Dawn, "May actually beat Zoey."

"You've beaten Zoey in battle before," Harry reminded her.

"Yeah but only in training," Dawn said, "If May can beat Zoey in a real contest battle…"

"Dawn you have just as much chance as May of winning the Aqua Ribbon," Brock told her.

"Hey guys," said Zoey as she returned to the changing rooms, "Since it's the last round, how about we go and watch from the crowd?"

"Okay," said Ash eagerly.

"You guys don't mind do you?" Harry asked Riolu and Spiritomb. They both shook their heads. The group left the changing rooms together.

* * *

"And this is it Ladies and Gentlemen!" cried Marian, "The final battle which will decide the winner of the Aqua Ribbon! On my right we have Dawn and on my right we have May. So let's get this battle underway! Begin!" The countdown began.

"Piplup, spotlight!" cried Dawn and sent out Piplup.

"Glaceon, on stage!" shouted May and her newly evolved Glaceon appeared, somersaulting gracefully and landing on his trainer's platform.

In the stands, Harry's Eevee burst out of her Poke Ball and sat on Harry's lap, watching Glaceon with fascination.

"Piplup, Bubblebeam!" ordered Dawn and Piplup sent a stream of bubbles towards Glaceon.

"Glaceon dodge and use Secret Power!" cried May and Glaceon charged, leaping aside to avoid Bubblebeam before glowing pink and slamming into Piplup knocking him to the ground. Piplup struggled to his feet but seemed to be having trouble moving.

"What happened?" Harry asked Brock.

"Secret Powers effect's change depending on where it's used," Brock said, "On stage there's a chance it might cause paralysis."

"Glaceon Ice Shard!" ordered May and Glaceon froze his fur which sharpened into icy needles before shooting towards Piplup. Under the effect of paralysis there wasn't anything Piplup could do. Dawn's points were dropping rapidly while May hadn't lost a single point so far.

"In the pool Piplup!" yelled Dawn and Piplup rolled away and dived into the water. There was a silence which was long enough for the clock to reach the four minute and ten second mark, before Piplup burst out of the water, having used the water to shrug off the paralysis. "Alright Piplup Whirlpool!"

"Pipluuuup!" Piplup summoned a Whirlpool and May's points dropped but she simply smiled as Piplup hurled the attack at Glaceon.

"Mirror Coat!" May shouted and Glaceon's fur glowed like a shining mirror. The Whirlpool slammed into Glaceon before being turned straight back on Piplup with twice the power, sending him splashing into the pool again.

"Piplup!" cried Dawn but she needn't have worried because Piplup leapt out of the water again, heading right towards Glaceon, "Alright use Peck!" Piplup's beak glowed white.

"Dodge and use Ice Shard!" shouted May and Glaceon jumped away from Piplup as he tried to Peck him before freezing his fur once more and launching more shards of ice from his fur.

"Whirlpool!" cried Dawn and Piplup summoned a Whirlpool and then used it to shield himself from Glaceon's attack. May lost more points, "Now ride the Whirlpool, Piplup!" Piplup jumped into the center of the Whirlpool like he was surfing. May's points decreased to nearly halfway. There were three minutes and fifteen seconds remaining.

"Ice Beam!" ordered May and Glaceon fired three beams from an orb he had formed in his mouth, freezing the entire Whirlpool. Dawn's points shot down to less than half.

"Bubblebeam!" cried Dawn and Piplup jumped off the frozen Whirlpool before hitting Glaceon with a Bubblebeam causing him to wince with pain. Two minutes and fifty seconds were remaining.

"Glaceon jump on the Whirlpool then use Secret Power!" ordered May and Glaceon jumped onto the frozen pool before changing direction and tackling Piplup. Ice surrounded Piplup's entire body.

"Piplup!" screamed Dawn as the Secret Power used the frozen Whirlpool to transfer a freezing effect onto Piplup.

"Couldn't May have just used Ice Beam to do that?" asked Harry.

"Yeah but by using Secret Power instead, she showed off Glaceon's ability to use the battlefield to its advantage," Zoey explained, "That's why Dawn lost so many points."

"Use Shadow Ball!" ordered May and Glaceon landed on the still frozen Whirlpool and fired a black orb from his mouth.

"Bide!" yelled Dawn. Despite being frozen, Piplup glowed white and the Shadow Ball then smashed him out of his icy prison, causing serious damage at the same time.

"Ice Shard!" cried May and Glaceon attacked Piplup with another flurry of frozen shards launched from his fur.

"Piplup let out that power!" ordered Dawn and Piplup sent a huge blast of white light shooting at Glaceon, not only causing massive damage to the Ice type but also smashing the frozen Whirlpool at the same time and causing Glaceon to tumble into the water. One minute and thirty seconds remained. Glaceon emerged from the water and struggled onto May's side of the battlefield. Piplup was waiting for him, "Piplup, Peck!"

"Piplup!" cried Piplup and jabbed his beak into Glaceon.

"Knock it away with Iron Tail!" shouted May and Glaceon's tail turned to iron before he turned around and slammed it into Piplup, hurling him right across the pool and onto Dawn's side of the field. There was now one minute left and Dawn was down to a quarter of her points while May still had roughly a third of hers. Both Piplup and Glaceon were panting.

"Piplup use Bubblebeam!" ordered Dawn and Piplup fired another Bubblebeam at Glaceon.

"Dodge and use Shadow Ball!" ordered May and Glaceon jumped over the Bubblebeam before firing a Shadow Ball at Piplup.

"Peck!" yelled Dawn and Piplup used his beak to burst the Shadow Ball like a balloon but due to all the energy inside it, he created a burst of purple energy which shielded Glaceon from view.

"Ice Shard!" cried May and shards shot through the purple energy, smashing into Piplup and sending him crashing to the ground.

"Piplup!" cried Dawn. Piplup struggled to get up. He couldn't keep this up much longer but there were still forty seconds left. May was in the lead and Piplup barely had any strength left.

"PIPLUP!" cried Piplup and his entire body glowed as Torrent activated. May's points instantly shot down so that they were level with Dawn's as the Special Ability kicked in.

"Glaceon don't give it time to make use of Torrent!" May cried, "Shadow Ball!" Glaceon formed and fired the Shadow Ball swiftly but Dawn was ready.

"Bubblebeam!" she yelled and Piplup's Torrent boosted Bubblebeam smashed through Shadow Ball, costing May more points.

"Dodge it!" she screamed and Glaceon leapt aside, barely avoiding being pummeled by the attack. There were twenty seconds remaining, "Ice Beam!"

"Jump and dodge it Piplup!" cried Dawn and Piplup jumped above the Ice Beam, "Use Whirlpool full power!" Piplup raised his arms and summoned the most powerful Whirlpool he had ever used in his life. It took him five seconds to create and hurl the massive Whirlpool at Glaceon.

"Mirror Coat!" yelled May and Glaceon charged straight at the Whirlpool and courageously stood his ground as his fur glowed white. The Whirlpool spun rapidly, doing its best to break through Mirror Coat. Glaceon stubbornly held his position for the remaining ten seconds. Then finally he couldn't hold it off any longer but did manage to ensure that Piplup was hit at the same time as the Whirlpool overwhelmed his defence. Both Pokemon crashed to the ground.

Piplup struggled upright. Glaceon lay on his side of the stage and didn't get up; if a Special Attack broke through Mirror Coat, it proved that either the Pokemon using Mirror Coat hadn't mastered the move or it couldn't continue battling. The Judges panels would normally have a red cross on them and emit a loud beeping sound when a Pokemon was defeated in a Contest battle, but on this occasion the time limit ran out at _exactly_ the same second when Glaceon fainted.

"And that's it!" yelled Marian, "Time's up and Glaceon fainted at exactly the same time the countdown ended! That means the winner of this years Wallace Cup is Dawn from Twinleaf Town!" The crowd exploded into applause. Dawn stayed where she was, stunned. She couldn't believe she'd actually won!

"Piplup!" Dawn saw snapped out of her shock by the tiny creature leaping into her arms. Dawn started crying with happiness.

"We won Piplup!" she cried, "We really won! Thank you so much!" She hugged her beloved Pokemon a little too tightly but right now she was so happy that Piplup didn't care. On the other side of the pool, May knelt beside Glaceon, who stirred but was too exhausted to get up. He stared sadly at his trainer but May just smiled at him.

"That was an amazing battle Glaceon," she said gently, "Thank you so much." Glaceon smiled weakly then slipped back into unconsciousness as May recalled him. She looked up at Dawn and smiled, "Hey Dawn!" the crying coordinator looked over at her friend, "Congratulations." Dawn smiled tearfully.

A few minutes later she was standing in front of Wallace with all of her Pokemon around her.

"That was magnificent Dawn!" Wallace announced, "You displayed true elegance on stage as well as a fantastic bond with your Pokemon. A lovely end to a wonderful contest. Dawn you are truly a wonderful coordinator and I am privileged to present you with the Aqua Ribbon!" Behind Wallace, his Milotic stretched out with its tail. Wallace placed the small, beautiful ribbon on his partner's tail and Milotic stretched it out to Dawn.

"Thank you so much Wallace!" Dawn said and took the ribbon from Milotic. Around her Piplup, Ambipom, Pachirisu and Buneary all cheered, "There's really no need to worry now, because I just got the Aqua Ribbon!" Dawn held up the ribbon and the crowd cheered. Wallace waited until they had calmed down before giving his closing speech.

"I am truly happy to have met so many wonderful people and Pokemon throughout this years Wallace Cup!" he announced, "I hope that next year I shall stand on stage once more to present another talented coordinator with their Aqua Ribbon. And perhaps I shall make some new friends as well, as I have in this past week," he caught Dawn's eye for just a split second before ending his speech, "So whichever region it takes place in next year, I look forward to welcoming coordinators and audience alike to the next Wallace Cup!"

"Milo!" Milotic squirted a Hydro Pump into the air creating a geyser with a glittery effect to signal the end of the Wallace Cup.

* * *

Harry, Dawn, Ash, May, Brock and Zoey all stood on the harbour. They watched Wallace walk by surrounded by fans who were eager to get an autograph before he left. The Contest Master winked at the group before continuing on his way.

"It is such an honour to be acknowledged as a friend by Wallace himself!" Dawn said.

"Yeah," Harry said, "And I gained a new appreciation of contests from this experience."

"Well I need to be going," May said, "There's still loads of contests in Johto I'm going to participate in."

"We'll miss you May," Ash said and the two of them hugged, like a brother would with his younger sister. May then went to hug Brock in the same way. She did the same to Dawn and then, to their slight surprise, even Harry and Zoey.

"I'll miss you all too," she said then walked towards her boat. She looked back at them just before she boarded and smiled.

"Hey May!" shouted Dawn, "Let's battle again soon okay?"

"Okay!" May said happily and waved as the boat started to move away from the harbour. Her five human friends, old and new alike, as well as the Pokemon outside their Poke Balls (apart from Spiritomb) all waved to her. Spiritomb shot a Hyper Beam into the air as a sign of farewell.

When May was gone, Zoey spoke up, "Well I'd better get going too. I'll see you in a contest again soon right, Dawn?"

"Right," Dawn said, "I'm looking forward to it!" Zoey waved as she walked away.

"So Harry," Ash said, "Now that your Spiritomb's under control, are you gonna travel with us?"

"Sorry," Harry said, "You're going to Pastoria City but I'm going in the opposite direction towards Veilstone City."

"Okay," Ash said, "But we'll see each other again soon right?"

"Right," Harry said and they shook hands. Pikachu and Riolu shook hands beside them. Spiritomb floated close to Pikachu and gave him a smile, which still freaked Pikachu out a bit, even though he knew it was meant to be a warm one. Pikachu patted Spiritomb's keystone in farewell.

"Bye Harry," Dawn said, "I'm glad you realized how great contests can be."

"I'll be there for you at the Grand Festival, even if I miss every contest before then," Harry said then looked at Brock, "And Brock keep up the great food. I'm gonna need some more of that next time we meet."

"You can count on it," Brock said. Harry waved to the trio as he, Riolu and Spiritomb walked, or in Spiritomb's case floated away.


	30. Reggie and Maylene

After the excitement of the Wallace Cup, the trip to Veilstone City was rather dull in comparison. When Harry arrived in Veilstone City ten days after separating from his friends, he was eager to challenge the Gym Leader as soon as possible.

Harry was on the outskirts of the city near a house with a massive backyard, several acres in size. There was enough space for at least fifty Pokemon to live comfortably. A Shinx and a Cherrim were running around nearby. A Kangaskhan was playing with her child. A Torterra was dozing.

Spiritomb and Riolu did a double take when they saw the Torterra. The Continent Pokemon must have sensed it was being watched because it opened one eye and looked at Riolu and Spiritomb. It seemed surprised when it saw them.

"Terra?" Torterra said curiously and stood up. Riolu tensed and Spiritomb gave a scowl that would send most running for the hills but this Torterra didn't look at all intimidated. Nor did it look aggressive, just interested as it examined the two Pokemon and then their trainer, "Torterra."

Harry couldn't be sure, but it sounded like Torterra was greeting him. As if they'd met before.

"What is it Torterra?" asked a voice and a young man with purple hair approached. Then he saw what Torterra was looking at and his eyes widened, "Oh my goodness!" Harry raised an eyebrow, confused by the man's reaction. It wasn't unusual for people to be surprised or terrified by Spiritomb's presence but there was something more than just surprise in this man's expression. It was as if he knew Spiritomb. Torterra looked at Spiritomb again.

"Terra, Torterra," it said.

"Torterra's apologising for helping my brother in his attempt to take your Spiritomb from you," the young man said and Harry realized that this must be Paul's Torterra.

"Wait, that's Paul's Torterra?" he blurted, then looked at the young man. He looked around Brock's age, at least five years older than Paul, but nonetheless there was a resemblance between him and Torterra's cruel trainer. Harry then realized what else the man had said, "And Paul's your brother?

"Yes," the man said, "But I don't condone what he tried to do, even if Spiritomb wasn't officially your Pokemon at the time. My name's Reggie. I take care of Paul's Pokemon when they're not with him."

"I hope you take care of them better than your heartless brother does," Harry muttered. Reggie flinched slightly at the insult towards his sibling.

"I can understand why you would think him heartless," he admitted, "But he's not a bad person." Harry raised his eyebrows sceptically, "I'm serious. He's just very ambitious."

"I've seen him practically torture his Pokemon," Harry said, "He's a monster!"

"He's always had a cruel streak," Reggie admitted, "That doesn't mean he's a monster. Now can you please stop insulting my younger brother?" Harry looked at him for a moment then shrugged.

"Okay," he said, "I need to go to the Veilstone City gym anyway."

"Do you know who the Gym Leader is?" asked Reggie as Harry turned away.

"No," Harry admitted.

"She's a friend of mine," Reggie said, "Maylene. And she has a Lucario." Riolu and Harry both whirled to face him. Spiritomb glanced back and rolled his swirly eyes before floating back to join them.

"A Lucario?" Harry said.

"Yep," said Reggie, "How strong is your bond with your Riolu?"

"Pretty strong," Harry said, "He can be a bit of a headache though, and I mean that literally." Riolu smirked in amusement and subtly put his hand into the chopping position he used in order to use Brick Break. Harry noticed, "Don't you dare." Riolu chuckled but relaxed his hand.

"Do you think you're bond is strong enough for him to become a Lucario?" Reggie asked. Harry hesitated and looked down at Riolu. The Emanation Pokemon just shrugged, "It's not unheard of, or even rare, for Pokemon to beat their evolved forms. But Maylene and her Lucario are a formidable team. I tell you what; I'll have a battle with you and see how strong your bond with your Pokemon is."

"If your Paul's older brother, why do you care about Pokemon bonds?" asked Harry a bit rudely.

"Paul and I are two very different people," Reggie said defensively, "And besides I'm a breeder," he sighed, "Although after five years, Paul still hasn't accepted that."

Harry felt a bit bad for his rude behaviour. Reggie seemed like a very nice guy, whereas his brother was the complete opposite. Harry shouldn't take out his hatred of Paul on his brother.

"Sorry," he muttered, "But I've seen Paul do some horrible things."

"Like what he did to his Chimchar?" Reggie said sadly, "Ash told me about that." Harry looked at him in surprise, "Yeah I know Ash. He and Paul both told me about you when they visited me recently. I know of only one other trainer who has captured a Spiritomb." That interested Harry but he decided not to ask who the other trainer was.

"Ash never mentioned you," Harry said. Reggie shrugged.

"That's okay," he said, "So do you want to have a battle or not?"

"Okay," Harry agreed, "Three on three?"

"Great," Reggie replied, "But when one of our Pokemon is defeated, the victor recalls the other. Deal?"

"Okay," Harry said.

"Reggie?" called a voice and a pink haired teenaged girl appeared. Harry knew instantly who she was because of the Lucario beside her, "How's my Meditite doing?"

"She's fine Maylene," Reggie assured her then glanced at Harry and explained, "Paul's not the only one who leaves his Pokemon here with me. I heal Maylene's Pokemon whenever Nurse Joy's busy."

"Hello," said Maylene and looked from Harry to Riolu to Spiritomb, "There's only one person you could be."

"Harry," Harry said then added, "Rowan. I'm Professor Rowan's grandson."

"So nice to meet you in person," Maylene said and looked at Spiritomb. She didn't seem surprised, awestruck or frightened by him. In fact she just looked at him like he was any other Pokemon, "I saw your Spiritomb on television when I was watching the Wallace Cup." Reggie raised an eyebrow.

"So Dawn's gotten you interested in contests?" he asked.

"Only if she's in them," Maylene said then focussed on Riolu, "And you've got a Riolu too. You're very lucky." She nudged Lucario playfully, "Remember when you were that cute, Lucario?" Lucario rolled his eyes and nodded at Riolu. Unlike Cynthia's playful Lucario, this one seemed rather intimidating.

"Harry and I were just about to have a battle Maylene," Reggie said, "Why don't you stay and watch?"

"Sure," Maylene said, "What do you say Lucario?" The Aura Pokemon nodded. The duo stepped to the side and stood next to Paul's Torterra as Harry and Reggie took their positions.

"Drapion, let's go!" Reggie called and released the Ogre Scorp Pokemon.

"Hey I caught a Drapion in the Great Marsh," Harry said, "Too bad I don't have him with me right now. Chimchar, take your position!" His Chimchar faced off against the much larger Drapion.

"You have the honor," Reggie said.

"Chimchar, Fire Spin go!" Harry ordered and Chimchar fired a swirling spiral of flames which twisted around Drapion who roared with pain.

"Your Chimchar's got a good Fire Spin!" Reggie called over the roar of the flames.

"Thanks," Harry said. It really was hard to believe this guy was related to Paul, "Use Dig!" Chimchar dove into the ground.

"Earthquake!" called Reggie and Drapion bashed its tail very hard on the ground.

"Uh oh," Harry said, "Chimchar get out of there!" Chimchar managed to force her way out of the tunnel before it caved in on top of her but found herself right in front of Drapion in the process. The swirling fire around Drapion served to make it look even more frightening.

"Use Cross Poison!" ordered Reggie and Drapion crossed its arms and slashed Chimchar with them, simultaneously slashing the Fire Spin apart. She hit the ground hard.

"Chimchar!" Harry cried.

"That's one down," Maylene announced.

"Ground type moves are the only attacks that are super effective on Drapion, which is exactly why I prepared him for opponents who use Dig," Reggie said.

"I thought you were a breeder," Harry said as he recalled Chimchar, "Nice work Chimchar. We were both caught off guard by that Earthquake."

"I used to be a trainer," Reggie said, "Drapion return." Drapion disappeared into his Poke Ball, "Alright Sudowoodo it's your turn!" Harry was familiar with Sudowoodo as he had witnessed Brock using his in battle a few times.

"Riolu you're up," he said. Riolu nodded and jumped forwards, "Use Brick Break!" Riolu jumped forwards, intending to slam a Brick Break on Sudowoodo's head. He succeeded but it proved to be a mistake.

"Counter!" called Reggie and Sudowoodo glowed red before slamming Riolu with double the power. Riolu hit the ground hard.

"Riolu are you okay?" asked Harry. Riolu jumped to his feet.

"Use Hammer Arm!" ordered Reggie and Sudowoodo's arms glowed white as it jumped forwards.

"Dodge it and then use Aura Sphere!" Harry shouted and Riolu backflipped gracefully out of range before forming an Aura Sphere between his hands.

"Your Riolu knows Aura Sphere?" Reggie gasped. Even Maylene and Lucario looked shocked. Riolu caught his evolved forms eye and smirked slightly when he saw the astonished expression on Lucario's face. Then he unleashed the Aura Sphere. Sudowoodo didn't stand a chance.

"Incredible," whispered Maylene, "My Lucario couldn't use Aura Sphere until he evolved."

"You must have trained your Riolu extremely well for him to have learned Aura Sphere without evolving," Reggie said approvingly.

"Thanks," Harry said, "Okay Riolu you take a break now." Riolu walked back to his trainer's side, "Spiritomb your turn." Spiritomb nodded and floated forwards.

"Manectric, let's win this!" Reggie released his last Pokemon which looked like a dog with blue and yellow fur and a mane around its head. Manectric sparked its fur, signalling it was ready to battle.

" _Manectric the Discharge Pokemon and the evolved form of Electrike. It discharges electricity from its mane and can create storm clouds overhead to drop lightning bolts."_

"Manectric use Rain Dance!" called Reggie and Manectric summoned storm clouds like the pokedex said it could. It started to rain.

"Spiritomb use Dark Pulse!" ordered Harry and Spiritomb blasted Manectric with black rings, knocking it off its feet.

"You can take that Manectric," said Reggie, "Use Charge!" Manectric's fur sparked as it charged up its body for a powerful shock.

"Rapid Fire Shadow Ball!" ordered Harry and Spiritomb launched five Shadow Balls. Reggie's eyes widened in shock at the speed Spiritomb summoned and fired the balls.

"Dodge!" he shouted. Manectric moved swiftly, avoiding three of the Shadow balls before being hit by the last two, "Manectric, are you okay?" Manectric shook off the attack and nodded to Reggie, "That Spiritomb's remarkable Harry. I've never seen a Pokemon summon and fire five Shadow Balls so quickly. But let's see how strong its defences are. Use Thunder!"

"Manectric!" roared Manectric and unleashed a huge blast of electricity. However instead of aiming it at Spiritomb, it aimed it into the storm cloud above them. A moment later a massive lightning bolt blasted down from the cloud and Spiritomb bellowed in agony. It took several seconds for the Thunder to die down. Spiritomb hovered there for a moment, his ghostly form spasming in agony, then opened his swirling eyes.

"Spiritomb can still battle?" said Reggie, shocked.

"Spiritomb's a very resilient Pokemon," Harry told him, "Use Silver Wind!" Spiritomb's keystone pattern glowed silver before he summoned a Silver Wind. Manectric grunted as he was forced back by the attack, "Now Hyper Beam!"

"Manectric dodge it!" cried Reggie. Spiritomb fired the Hyper Beam swiftly but Manectric was faster and narrowly avoided the attack, "Use Ice Fang!"

"Ice Fang?" Harry said caught off guard by the unexpected move. Like Crasher Wake's Floatzel, this Manectric had such an advanced mastery of Ice Fang that its frozen fangs extended far beyond their natural length. Spiritomb bellowed as he was hit by the frozen fangs and crashed to the ground, "Spiritomb!"

"Well that's that," Maylene said stepping forwards, "Reggie wins." Lucario and Torterra both nodded.

"Nice work Manectric," said Reggie and stroked his Pokemon's fur. Manectric smiled and nodded.

"You okay Spiritomb?" asked Harry, kneeling beside the Forbidden Pokemon. Spiritomb bobbed up and down in a nod. Then he withdrew into his keystone and Harry picked it up.

"Aren't you going to put Spiritomb in its Poke Ball?" asked Reggie.

"Spiritomb doesn't like Poke Balls," Harry said, "That's why your brother was nearly able to steal him from me. I just wish his keystone wasn't so heavy."

"I look forward to battling you at the Veilstone Gym," said Maylene, "Come by tomorrow and let's see how well your Riolu can hold its own in a battle with Lucario." Lucario nodded and looked down at Riolu. Riolu looked up at his evolved form and it was clear that both of them were looking forward to battling each other.

Harry didn't even consider _not_ using Riolu for his upcoming battle.


	31. Riolu vs Lucario

Reggie was kind enough to let Harry stay with him that night. Harry briefly contacted his family that evening before going to bed. Professor Rowan was fascinated by Spiritomb. Although his field was evolution, he was still interested in studying other aspects of Pokemon as well so a creature as rare as Spiritomb had certainly caught his attention.

The next day Reggie led Harry to the Veilstone Gym. Maylene and Lucario were waiting for them outside.

"Alright Harry," said Maylene eagerly, "Ready to get this battle underway?"

"Yep," Harry said.

"Then follow me," Maylene led Harry, Riolu and Spiritomb into the gym. Reggie joined them and sat with Maylene's fellow martial arts practitioners. One of them acted as the referee.

"This battle will begin with each trainer using three Pokemon!" called the referee, "The challenger will be allowed to substitute but the Gym Leader will not."

"Alright Meditite, come on out!" called Maylene and released a small Pokemon that somewhat resembled a primate and a little human girl with white and blue skin.

" _Meditite the Meditate Pokemon. It eats just one berry a day and trains in mountains. It is capable of levitating whilst using Meditate._ "

"Spiritomb take your position," Harry said to Spiritomb and the Forbidden Pokemon floated forwards.

"Let the match begin!" shouted the referee,

"Spiritomb, Shadow Ball!" ordered Harry and Spiritomb fired a single black orb at Meditite.

"Dodge it and use Meditate!" called Maylene and Meditite jumped over the Shadow Ball before going into a meditation position in midair. She levitated and a white glow surrounded her.

"Rapid Fire Shadow Ball!" Harry called and this time Spiritomb shot five Shadow Balls at Meditite.

"Detect!" called Maylene and Meditite opened her eyes which glowed green. She then evaded all five of the Shadow Balls flawlessly, "Alright let's go on the offensive, Meditite. Use Thunder Punch!" Meditite stopped meditating and her fist sparked with electricity. She slammed her fist into Spiritomb sending him tumbling to the ground.

"That was a strong Thunder Punch," Harry commented, "But Spiritomb can take it." Spiritomb shrugged off the blow and rose back into the air, "Use Silver Wind!" Spiritomb summoned a Silver Wind which blew Meditite backwards.

"Bounce of the wall, then Thunder Punch!" ordered Maylene and Meditite backflipped and planted her feet on the wall before propelling herself back towards Spiritomb. Another powerful Thunder Punch sent Spiritomb crashing into the opposite wall.

"Spiritomb are you okay?" Harry asked. Spiritomb nodded and floated forwards again.

"Alright Meditite let's use Confusion!" ordered Maylene and Meditite's eyes glowed pink. Pink energy surrounded Spiritomb. Harry and Spiritomb smirked as the energy dissipated harmlessly, "What?" Having never battled a Spiritomb before, Maylene had assumed he was a pure Ghost type so she was caught off guard by Spiritomb shrugging off her Meditite's Confusion.

"Spiritomb's a Dark type as well as a Ghost type," Harry explained, "Psychic type attacks won't do a thing. Use Dark Pulse!" Spiritomb fired black rings which slammed Meditite into the wall.

"Meditite!" cried Maylene as her Pokemon struggled to stand up. Maylene gritted her teeth. Her Medtite knew Drain Punch which could restore energy, but as a Fighting type move it was as useless against Spiritomb as Confusion was. The only attack Meditite knew that could cause any damage was Thunder Punch, "Meditite use Meditate once more!"

"Med," Meditite said and levitated in a meditation position once more and a white glow surrounded her, slightly more intensely than last time.

"Dark Pulse!" ordered Harry and Spiritomb fired another Dark Pulse.

"Dodge it and use Thunder Punch!" ordered Maylene and Meditite immediately stopped meditating and leapt over the black rings before descending towards Spiritomb with her fist surrounded by electricity.

"Dodge it!" called Harry and Spiritomb evaded the Thunder Punch with surprising speed. A moment later he was behind Meditite and in the perfect position for another attack, "Use Shadow Ball!" Spiritomb blasted Meditite from behind with Shadow Ball and she crashed to the ground.

"Meditite!" cried Maylene.

"Meditite is unable to battle!" cried the referee, "Spiritomb wins!"

"Nice work Spiritomb," Harry said and Spiritomb chuckled wickedly as Maylene recalled Meditite.

"Nice work Meditite," she said, "Thanks to you I learned more about Spiritomb," she smirked at Harry, "And I know just how to counter it. Machoke come on out!" A muscular humanoid Pokemon wearing a belt appeared.

" _Machoke the Superpower Pokemon and evolved form of Machop. It happily carries heavy cargo to toughen up. It willingly does hard work for people as it likes to show of its formidable strength_."

"Use Foresight!" called Maylene and Machoke's eyes turned red and shot red beams at Spiritomb. Spiritomb looked confused as the move didn't hurt him at all.

"Spiritomb use Hyper Beam!" Harry ordered and Spiritomb blasted Machoke with a powerful beam slamming him into the wall. The muscular Pokemon grunted with pain but picked himself up.

"Machoke Cross Chop!" ordered Maylene and Machoke lunged towards Spiritomb. Spiritomb didn't move, fully expecting the Cross Chop to go right through him. He was in for a shock when the attack smashed into him, ignoring his supposed immunity and hurled him into the wall, knocking him out.

"Spiritomb is unable to battle, Machoke wins!" called the referee.

"How did Machoke…?" Harry began, then it hit him, "Oh, that must have been because of Foresight!"

"Correct," Maylene said, "After Foresight is used a Pokemon can hit a Ghost type with both Normal and Fighting type moves. And since Spiritomb's also a Dark type, removing its immunity means it just took a super effective hit."

"I can see why you're a Gym Leader," Harry said and turned to Spiritomb, "Nice work Spiritomb. That Machoke caught us both off guard didn't it?" Spiritomb nodded and Harry turned back to the battle, "Drifloon take your position!" The Balloon Pokemon emerged and spun playfully, "Use Acrobatics!" Drifloon darted forwards and slammed into Machoke knocking him off his feet.

"Hang on Machoke!" cried Maylene, "Foresight!" Machoke shot two red beams from his eyes again, making Drifloon's body solid.

"Use Acrobatics!" ordered Harry and Drifloon darted towards Machoke again but this time Maylene was ready.

"Scary Face!" Machoke glared furiously at Drifloon who faltered when she saw the frightening glare, "Now Seismic Toss!" ordered Maylene and Machoke grabbed Drifloon before she could recover from Scary Face. The Fighting type jumped, somersaulted in the air and hurled Drifloon to the ground.

"Drifloon!" Harry shouted. Drifloon groaned but managed to recover.

"Cross Chop!" ordered Maylene and Machoke crossd his arms which glowed white before he lunged.

"Minimize!" Harry ordered and Drifloon made herself tiny and then darted between Machoke's legs to avoid Cross Chop. Maylene loved her Machoke but sometimes she wished his Ability was No Guard instead of Guts, "Shadow Ball!"

"Floon!" cried Drifloon, returning to her full size and shooting a Shadow Ball at Machoke as he turned around. The Shadow Ball exploded right in Machoke's face and he fell to the ground.

"Machoke is unable to battle, Drifloon wins!"

"Thanks Machoke," said Maylene as she recalled her Pokemon, "At least you made sure Lucario's Fighting type moves will work. Let's go!" She turned to Lucario who smirked and jumped forwards.

"Lucario's Fighting type moves may affect Drifloon but they still won't do much damage because she's also a Flying type," Harry pointed out.

"They'll do enough damage," Maylene replied, "Aura Sphere!" Lucario formed an Aura Sphere considerably stronger than Riolu's and hurled it at Drifloon. Even with her resistance to the attack it still knocked her backwards.

"Drifloon, Acrobatics!" ordered Harry and Drifloon darted towards Lucario.

"Dodge it and use Force Palm!" ordered Maylene and Lucario stepped aside before grabbing one of Drifloon's string like arms with one hand and slamming his palm into her with the other. An explosion of energy sent Drifloon flying, "Now use Quick Attack!"

"Rah," Lucario cried and darted forwards, leaving behind a white trail before slamming into Drifloon and knocking her into the wall.

"Drifloon is unable to battle, Lucario wins!"

"Drifloon return," Harry said, "Good work. Alright Riolu are you ready?" Riolu nodded and stepped forwards to face his evolved form. Lucario nodded to him, showing no signs of arrogance about facing his pre-evolution. Riolu had earned Lucario's respect when he used Aura Sphere. "Aura…"

"Sphere!" Maylene finished.

Riolu and Lucario both fired their attacks and there was an explosion in the middle of the gym. Lucario's Aura Sphere continued through the smoke and smashed into Riolu sending him flying.

"Hang on Riolu, use Quick Attack!" Harry ordered.

"Quick Attack too!" Maylene countered. Riolu was fast but Lucario was both faster _and_ stronger. The two Pokemon collided but Lucario easily overpowered Riolu and send him crashing to the ground. Harry grimaced at how easily Lucario was beating Riolu.

"Use Hidden Power!" Harry shouted and Riolu formed and fired white orbs towards Lucario.

"Bone Rush!" ordered Maylene and Lucario formed a long bone made out of Aura between his hands and then spun it, deflecting every single orb, "Alright go, Lucario!" Lucario, still holding the bone, darted towards Riolu.

"Copycat!" Harry ordered quickly and Riolu memorized and mimicked Lucario's use of Bone Rush. A moment later two bones made out of Aura were colliding over and over again. However mimicking how to _create_ Bone Rush wasn't the same as being skilled at using it. Lucario smacked Riolu in the face with one end of his bone and then slammed the other end into his stomach, winding the Emanation Pokemon. Finally he clobbered Riolu on the head and he fell to the ground before Lucario stepped back. "Riolu!"

Riolu struggled to stand up. He looked up at Lucario. The Aura Pokemon was much faster, more powerful and more experienced. Right now it seemed that the only way Riolu could defeat Lucario was by evolving himself but that irrational part of his mind that demanded he learn Aura Sphere was also demanding that he prove his strength by winning without evolving. It wasn't that Riolu didn't want to evolve, but he still had things he wanted to do first and defeating at least one Lucario was one of them.

"Riolu!" he called and flexed his muscles to show he wanted to keep going.

"Okay Riolu Quick Attack and get close!" Harry ordered

"Quick Attack too!" Maylene cried.

"Spin!" Harry ordered, using a technique he'd learned whilst with Ash, Dawn and Brock. Riolu's speed from the Quick Attack gave his spin greater momentum and he spun past Lucario, unharmed.

However Harry and Riolu then realized he had picked up too _much_ momentum from the Quick Attack and was headed for the wall. Riolu hastily stopped spinning and turned sideways, bashing his shoulder on the wall but minimizing the amount of damage he could have taken. He landed on his feet clumsily before regaining his balance and running back towards Lucario. Harry made a mental note to only use spinning by itself rather than speeding it up with Quick Attack and potentially making Riolu go out of control and injure himself.

"Force Palm!" ordered Harry and Riolu slammed his palm into Lucario's stomach before blasting his evolved form backwards with a blast of energy. Lucario hit the ground hard and winced as he struggled upright.

"Well done," Maylene said, "Your Riolu's something special alright!"

"I know that," Harry replied, "Riolu use Brick Break!" Riolu jumped, raising his hand to deliver a powerful chop.

"Grab it!" called Maylene and Lucario reached out with one hand and caught Riolu's wrist in mid-air, holding the smaller Pokemon in the air with one hand, "Force Palm!" Lucario slammed his palm into Riolu's belly.

"Oh no!" cried Harry as yellow light exploded out of Lucario's palm and sent Riolu flying into his trainers arms, nearly knocking Harry off his feet, "Riolu!" Riolu looked at Lucario for a moment, still in Harry's arms. Then he fainted.

"Riolu is unable to battle!" cried the referee, "Lucario wins and the victory goes to Maylene the Gym Leader!"

"Nice work Lucario," said Maylene, "That Riolu was brave wasn't he?" Lucario nodded and the pair stepped towards Harry and Riolu, "Harry, Lucario and I are both impressed with your Riolu. He showed a great deal of courage to stand up to his evolved form like that."

"Thanks Maylene," Harry said.

"Rio, Lu, Riolu," Riolu said addressing Lucario. Harry put him down and he stepped towards his evolved form, "Riolu." Lucario nodded and gave him a small smile.

"I guess Riolu wants to have a rematch soon," Harry said, "And I think he wants to beat Lucario without evolving."

"Next time how about we have a one-on-one battle?" asked Maylene, "You've proven you're capable of beating Meditite and Machoke."

"Will that still count as a Gym battle?" Harry asked.

"As Gym Leader I can decide how many Pokemon we use," Maylene said, "So yes it will."

"Okay," Harry said, "Riolu and I will do some training and then we'll be back."

"I'm looking forward to it," Maylene said and the two of them shook hands.

* * *

While Reggie was treating Harry's three Pokemon, Harry decided to have a chat with his grandfather on the phone.

"So your Riolu is not ready to evolve yet?" Rowan said.

"Not yet," Harry said, "He's determined to beat Maylene's Lucario first."

"I see," Rowan said, "Do you think he's _able_ to evolve yet?" Harry hesitated, "Do you think your friendship is strong enough?"

"I don't know," Harry admitted, "Riolu can read my emotions but I can't read his. I think we're close but I'm not sure if we're close enough for him to evolve right now."

"Well as long as you're treating Riolu better than you treated Buizel…" Rowan said sternly and Harry grimaced. He wished he'd never told his grandfather about that.

"I'm lucky Buizel forgave me for that," he mumbled.

"Indeed," Rowan replied, "Now I have something to ask you. Would you mind sending me your Spiritomb?" Harry hesitated.

"Spiritomb can't evolve," Harry said.

"Perhaps not but it is a fascinating species," Rowan said, "I've only ever seen one other Spiritomb in my sixty years on this planet."

"Really?" Harry asked, "When?"

"About twenty years ago in an ancient ruin," Rowan replied, "It was actually very friendly."

"So why didn't you catch it?" asked Harry.

"Because someone else was exploring those ruins along with me and caught Spiritomb instead," Rowan replied.

"Who?" Harry asked curiously.

"I have a feeling that you may meet him someday," Rowan said enigmatically. Harry was intrigued but his grandfather continued before he could press him further, "Anyway I would like to have a chance to study Spiritomb properly if that's alright with you."

"I'll talk to Spiritomb about it," Harry said, "He's only left me once since he was freed and on that occasion he was very nearly captured by an asshole."

"Language!" boomed Rowan.

"Sorry Grandpa," Harry apologised, "But if Spiritomb agrees, I'll send him to you before I leave Veilstone City."

"Thank you," said Rowan, "Well I need to be going now. I'll speak to you soon."

"Give mum and dad my love," Harry said.

"I will," Rowan said, "Goodbye."

"Bye," Harry replied and hung up the phone.

"Harry," said Reggie as he entered the kitchen, "Your Pokemon are all fine. Riolu was paralyzed by that Force Palm but he's okay now."

"Thanks Reggie," Harry said.

"You know," Reggie said, "Maylene's Lucario specializes in Physical Attacks. Aura Sphere's the only one of his moves that is a Special Attack."

"What's your point?" Harry asked.

"My point is that Riolu is capable of learning Counter," Reggie explained, "Sudowoodo and I can help him master it if you want."

"That sounds great," Harry said, "Thank you."

* * *

It took Riolu a whole day of practice with Sudowoodo to get the hang of Counter. During that time, Harry spoke to Spiritomb about going to live in his grandfather's lab for a while. Although Spiritomb was cautious at first, Harry assured him that his grandfather would look after him and that he wouldn't imprison him if he misbehaved. In the end Spiritomb agreed.

Harry transferred Spiritomb to Professor Rowan's lab just before he, Reggie and Riolu went to the Gym. As agreed the day before yesterday, only Riolu and Lucario were going to battle this time. Reggie sat on the sidelines as he had during the previous battle. Riolu and Lucario stepped in front of their trainers, ready to begin.

"This will be a one-on-one gym battle," announced the referee, "But if the challenger emerges victorious, he will still have earned the Cobble Badge. Begin!"

"Alright Riolu use Aura Sphere!" Harry ordered.

"Lucario use Aura Sphere too!" Maylene countered. The two Aura Sphere's collided and like before Lucario's Aura Sphere broke through. Unlike before however, Harry and Riolu were ready.

"Force Palm on the sphere!" Harry ordered and Riolu reached out with one hand and blocked the Aura Sphere. Light exploded from his palm and the sphere rocketed back towards Lucario, knocking him off his feet, "Just as I thought. As soon as Aura Sphere touches its target it loses the ability to lock onto its Aura."

"An excellent move," Maylene said, "But it'll take more than that to defeat Lucario. Bone Rush!" Lucario formed a bone out of Aura and lunged at Riolu. Riolu glanced quickly at Harry who instantly understood if he was wondering whether to use Counter yet.

"Dodge it!" Harry said instead, wanting to keep Counter as a surprise for later. Riolu obediently moved as quickly as he could, side stepping, jumping and somersaulting to avoid the Bone Rush. Despite Riolu's Speed however, Lucario managed to smack him in the side whilst he was half way through a jump and knocked him to the ground.

"Good job now use Metal Claw!" ordered Maylene and Lucario slashed Riolu with the three claws that extended from the spikes on the back of his hand. Riolu yelped in pain but still didn't use Counter.

"Riolu use Quick Attack!" Harry ordered and Riolu darted towards his evolved form.

"Quick Attack too!" ordered Maylene and Lucario overpowered Riolu once again and sent him tumbling backwards, "Lucario, Force Palm!"

"Now's the time Riolu!" Harry yelled, "Counter!" Maylene's eyes widened.

"Lucario stop!" she screamed but Lucario had already reached Riolu and slammed his palm into him. Riolu glowed red as a burst of yellow light exploded out of Lucario's palm and then reversed itself so that it looked like it was coming out of Riolu's chest with twice the power. Lucario was sent flying into the wall and collapsed to the ground, "Lucario are you okay!" The Aura Pokemon grimaced in pain and struggled to his feet.

"Use Quick Attack!" ordered Harry and while Lucario was still recovering from Counter, Riolu slammed into him. Lucario grunted but brushed off the Normal type move, taking minimal damage.

"Metal Claw!" ordered Maylene and Lucario slashed Riolu before he could use Counter sending him sprawling, "Now Aura Sphere!"

"Quick Force Palm!" Harry but Riolu was just a second too slow and the Aura Sphere sent him crashing to the ground again, "Riolu." Riolu twitched, then slowly started to get up. Maylene and Lucario raised their eyebrows, surprised that the Emanation Pokemon was able to keep going.

"Impressive," said Maylene, "Riolu's a resilient Pokemon. But Counter won't work on the finishing blow! Use Bone Rush!" Lucario created another bone and jumped into the air swinging the bone over and down towards Riolu in a blow that would probably give him a concussion if it hit.

"Copycat!" yelled Harry and Riolu memorized, replicated and blocked Lucario's bone all in the span of one second. The force of the blow still knocked Riolu onto one knee but he kept the bone above his head to stop Lucario's attack, "Aim for the legs, Riolu!" Almost as soon as Lucario's feet touched the ground, Riolu pushed his bone away and swung his own bone at his evolved forms ankles, knocking him off his feet, "Now finish it!"

"Block and kick it over you!" Maylene yelled and Lucario, who was still holding his own bone, blocked Riolu's overhand blow, then used both feet to not only throw Riolu over him but also to roll onto his feet at the same time. Riolu crashed onto his back, "Force Palm!"

"Roll away Riolu!" Harry yelled and Riolu and Lucario both dissipated their bones before Riolu rolled sideways and Lucario slammed his palm down on the place where he'd just been lying. The energy from the Force Palm created a cloud of dust and an explosion, "Use _your_ Force Palm!" Before the dust settled, Riolu slammed a Force Palm into Lucario and blasted him off his feet. Despite the super effectiveness of the attack, Lucario rolled back onto his feet. By now both Pokemon were looking exhausted.

"Lucario!" Lucario said and for the first time there was a real smile on his face.

"Riolu!" Riolu smiled back.

"Use Brick Break!" yelled Harry.

"Metal Claw!" ordered Maylene.

Both Pokemon charged. Riolu noticed a barely perceptible change in Lucario's speed. He was ignoring it but the injury he received from the Bone Rush directed at his ankle must be hurting him because, although it couldn't be noticed by the Humans, he was moving just a _tiny_ bit slower than usual.

Riolu jumped and slammed his hand down on Lucario's head. A split second later Lucario's claws slashed into his side. Being the lighter of the pair, Riolu was knocked sideways but landed on his feet as Lucario went past him, using the momentum of Metal Claw to spin around and face him. This all happened so fast that it was hard to tell that Riolu had actually hit Lucario before being knocked away.

Riolu and Lucario stared at each other for a long moment. Both of their legs shook from the effort of staying on their feet.

Finally Lucario's injured ankle gave way and he collapsed. Three seconds later, Riolu also fainted.

Harry had won the match by three seconds.

"Lucario and Riolu are both unable to battle!" bellowed the referee, "However since Lucario fainted three seconds earlier that makes Harry Rowan and his Riolu the winners!" Harry rushed out onto the battlefield and knelt beside Riolu and hugged him gently so he wouldn't aggravate his injuries.

"You did it Riolu!" he said, "You won. Only barely but you still won!" Riolu beamed and then looked over at Lucario as Maylene knelt beside him.

"You were great Lucario," she said, "That was a wonderful battle." Lucario smiled and nodded before looking at Riolu. The two Pokemon smiled at each other, Lucario to Riolu for being a worthy opponent and Riolu to Lucario for being a good sport about losing. Maylene approached Harry, "Well your Riolu beat my Lucario fair and square. So please take this." She held out the Cobble Badge, "You deserve it."

"Thank you Maylene," said Harry and took the Cobble Badge from her.

"If your Riolu ever decides to evolve, I know he will be extraordinarily powerful even for a Lucario," Maylene complimented, "The fact that he beat Lucario and mastered Aura Sphere before evolution proves it. You should be very proud of him."

"I am," Harry said, "I'm so glad I chose Riolu as my Starter Pokemon." Riolu hugged him happily, "And Reggie," Harry turned to Paul's brother as he approached from the sidelines, "Thanks for everything. You really are a much better person than your brother."

"Thank you," Reggie said, "Now let's get Riolu patched up."


	32. Children's Fear

Harry wasn't sure where he took a wrong turn and as usual his map reading abilities weren't helping. In the end he just put the map away and continued walking through a thick forest. Riolu walked alongside him. It was raining which was making both Pokemon and trainer rather miserable.

"I don't suppose you were ever around this area before grandpa caught you, were you Riolu?" Harry asked. Riolu shook his head, "Well I don't have a clue where we are."

"Riolu!" said Riolu suddenly and pointed to a small shape that was approaching them. Harry was very surprised when he found out it was a little girl, only about seven years old. She was crying.

"Hello?" Harry said and the girl jumped and backed away, "Its okay. I won't hurt you." Harry was relieved Spiritomb was at his grandfather's lab right now. The sight of the Forbidden Pokemon would probably make the child faint from terror. "I'm Harry and this is Riolu. What's your name?"

"Louise," said the girl, "I was trying to find my friend and I got lost."

"Who's your friend?" asked Harry.

"She's a Kricketune," Louise replied, "Have you seen her?"

"No, sorry," Harry said, "I'm lost too. I'm trying to find my way to Solaceon Town so that I can get back to Hearthome City."

"But you're close to Celestic Town," Louise said, "I live there." Harry and Riolu looked at each other.

"Damn, I really _do_ have a bad sense of direction," Harry muttered.

"Kricketune and I had a fight because she evolved," whimpered Louise, "I thought she stopped being cute after evolving so she ran away!"

"Well I haven't got anything else to do right now," Harry said, "I'll help you look for her."

"Thank you," Louise said smiling tearfully.

The trio wandered through the forest together. Riolu scanned around with Aura but the limitations of his abilities meant that although he could sense feelings around him, he couldn't easily pick out the individuals that were feeling them. With Harry it was easy because he knew his Aura so well and with Louise it was easy because she was right behind him, but the Aura's of the wild Pokemon in the area all blurred together. If he were a Lucario he could pick out every Aura individually.

"Find anything, Riolu?" asked Harry. Riolu shrugged.

"What if Kricketune hates me?" asked Louise.

"Hey if you're really friends, she won't hate you," Harry said reassuringly, "Riolu bashes me on the head sometimes but I know he doesn't hate me." Louise giggled.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yep," Harry said. Riolu made a chopping motion with his hand and smirked. Then all three of them heard music from a place deeper in the forest. It was a beautiful sound. Riolu led them towards it.

"Kricketune!" cried Louise and Kricketune turned to her when they found the Cricket Pokemon in a clearing. She was rubbing her blades together in order to make the music. Louise ran over to her, "Kricketune that was beautiful." Kricketune looked surprised, "I'm sorry for what I said before. Please don't leave me!" Kricketune saw her friend crying and played her another melody to calm her down. "Hey Kricketune when we get home, how about we make music together?" Kricketune nodded eagerly, "Great. Maybe one day we'll be famous musicians."

"Tune!" cried Kricketune eagerly. Harry smiled and took out his pokedex.

" _Kricketune, the Cricket Pokémon, and the evolved form of Kricketot. It crosses its knifelike arms in front of its chest when it cries and signals emotions with its melodies."_

"What's that?" asked Louise coming over to him with Kricketune.

"This is my pokedex," Harry told her, "My grandfather gave it to me."

"Cool," Louise examined the pokedex with fascination. Harry looked up at the sky. The sun was starting to set.

"I think we'd better get going," he said, "Which way to Celestic Town?"

"Um," Louise chewed her lip, "I don't know."

"Kricketune!" said Kricketune who had already moved to the edge of the clearing and was gesturing with her scythes, "Tune."

"I think Kricketune knows," Harry said, "Come on."

Kricketune had memorized the way back to Celestic Town. However as she led them back, something rustled in the bushes. Riolu tensed.

"Scyther!" cried a Scyther, shooting out of the bushes at breakneck speed. Louise and Kricketune ducked out of the way. Harry and Riolu instinctively jumped aside. The Scyther circled around and slashed at Louise again. Kricketune darted forwards and blocked the blow with her scythes.

Harry hadn't seen a Scyther since a nasty encounter in his grandfather's lab. Seeing those sharp scythes bearing down on Kricketune was frightening.

"Rio!" cried Riolu, snapping Harry out of his trance. The Scyther slashed Kricketune again driving her backwards. The Mantis Pokemon seemed determined to get at Louise but Kricketune refused to let it past her.

"Quick Attack!" Harry said. Riolu noticed his voice shaking slightly but ignored it and slammed into the Scyther at top speed. Scyther grunted in annoyance and slashed at him with its deadly scythes. Riolu ducked and backed away quickly.

"Why are you doing this, Scyther?" cried Louise.

"We must be in its territory," Harry said and hurried over to the little girl taking out another Poke Ball, "Don't worry, I've got this. Chimchar take your position!" Chimchar burst out of her Poke Ball. The Scyther turned to her and used Leer. Chimchar looked nervous. Riolu, nursing a rather nasty cut on his arm, sprinted over to them.

"Scy!" yelled Scyther and held up its claws threateningly.

"Fire Spin!" ordered Harry and Chimchar shot a Fire Spin at the Scyther. The Mantis Pokemon swiftly dodged and darted forwards, raising its scythes, "Acrobatics!" Scyther slashed down but its claws passed through one of Chimchar's after-images and a moment later the Chimp Pokemon had slammed her weight onto its back. Scyther grunted and spun around but Chimchar had already back flipped away, "Flame Wheel!"

"Char!" cried Chimchar and smashed into Scyther with Flame Wheel slamming it into a tree. The Scyther groaned but rather than retreat it picked itself up and fired Razor Wind from its claws.

"Into the trees!" Harry shouted and Chimchar jumped and swung herself up. The angry Scyther darted after her. Chimchar leapt from branch to branch but the Scyther kept up with her easily, simply Slashing through any branches that got in its way.

"Kricketune Sing!" shouted Louise and Kricketune rubbed her scythes together. Chimchar jumped out of the trees and landed on her trainer's shoulder. Musical notes emerged from Kricketune's body and circled around Scyther. When they touched it, Scyther began to get drowsy. Finally it collapsed and fell asleep. Louise looked at Harry, "You can catch it now."

"I'd rather not," Harry muttered, "Come on, let's get you home." They left the sleeping Scyther where it was. Riolu looked up at his trainer in concern. Harry seemed more shaken by the experience than Louise had been.

It was late when they arrived so Harry and Riolu said goodbye to Louise and Kricketune as they rushed off home. Harry rented a room in the Pokemon Center for the night. Riolu sat on the edge of his bed, swinging his legs like a child while Harry unpacked.

"Riolu?" asked Riolu.

"I'm fine," Harry said. Riolu frowned at him, "That Scyther just… brought back a bad memory."

* * *

 _Harry was eight years old and was playing with Turtwig, Chimchar and Piplup in his grandfather's garden. Piplup sat on his lap, Chimchar perched on his shoulder and Turtwig ran around them happily._

 _"Scy!" cried a voice and there was a crashing sound from the direction of Rowan's lab. A Scyther suddenly came smashing through a window. Professor Rowan rushed to the shattered glass._

 _"Scyther come back!" he yelled. Eight year old Harry looked up at the Scyther excitedly but his excitement turned to fear when the Scyther flew right at him. Those blade like scythes were huge!_

 _"Grandpa!" Harry shrieked and cowered as the Scyther landed next to him, both blades glinting. It had no intention of hurting him but the little boy didn't know that. The Scyther ducked behind Harry for protection but all the little boy registered were the massive scythes which were crossed in front of him while the rest of Scyther was behind him. It was as though the Mantis Pokemon was using him as a hostage._

 _"Alright!" boomed Rowan, "You don't have to go into a Poke Ball if you don't want to. But don't hurt my grandson." The Scyther relaxed. Its blades made a nasty sound of metal sliding across metal as it drew them back. If Harry hadn't been so terrified he might have registered that Scyther had been intending to hug him not terrify him. Scyther was just as scared as Harry, having only just been captured by an intimidating old man and brought to an unfamiliar place full of weird machines._

 _Proffessor Rowan took his grandson home and Harry's mother had a rant about letting a dangerous Pokemon like Scyther roam around the lab. After that Harry didn't visit his grandfather until Rowan rang his mother to tell her that a trainer had chosen Scyther as his Starter Pokemon._

* * *

Riolu couldn't exactly read the events of two and a half years ago as his Aura powers weren't quite that advanced, but he felt the lingering fear Harry possessed of Scyther. Once the trainer had finished his story, Riolu gave him a hug. Harry smiled and relaxed.

"Do you think we're close enough for you to evolve?" he asked. Riolu drew back and paused. He had beaten a Lucario, mastered Aura Sphere and shared a close relationship with his trainer. There wasn't really anything to stop him from evolving right here and now.

Except he didn't want to. Not yet. He liked his current form and while he wasn't averse to evolving some day, he felt that right now he still wanted to, for lack of a better phrase, hold onto his childhood. Once he was a Lucario, he felt like he would have officially become an adult and he didn't feel ready for that just yet.

"Riolu, Ri," he said. Harry couldn't truly understand him but he interpreted it as something like, "I don't want to evolve yet."

"Do you have something against Lucario?" he asked. Riolu shook his head, "So what's stopping you?" Riolu shrugged. He wasn't entirely sure himself. Perhaps just fear of what he would be like when he finally did evolve, "Are you ever going to evolve?"

"Lu," Riolu nodded.

"Just not yet?" Harry guessed and Riolu nodded again. Harry shrugged, "You evolve whenever you feel ready, Riolu."

"Riolu," Riolu said with a smile. Then he hopped onto the foot of his trainer's bed, curled up and went to sleep.


	33. Galactic Heist Part 1

**GarionRiva, Harry will catch a Dragon type in this story. I've already written the scene where he catches it but it's still quite a few chapters away.**

The next day Harry and Riolu went to visit Nurse Joy, hoping they could get directions back to Hearthome City.

"Thank you," Harry said after Nurse Joy told him that the fastest way was to go back down Route 210 and bypass Solaceon Town altogether. Harry looked at his map carefully as he left the Pokemon Center, trying to memorize as much of Route 210 as he could. If he walked in a straight line out of Celestic Town he should, in theory, get back to Hearthome City.

Then he heard a familiar voice. Riolu looked up excitedly as a voice called "Chimchar, Flame Wheel and Flamethrower!"

Riolu led Harry around the back of the Pokemon Center and he found Ash, Dawn and Brock behind, watching Chimchar do an airborne Flame Wheel and then using Flamethrower from within said Flame Wheel to produce fire whips.

"You see," Ash was explaining to Dawn, "After watching Ambipom in the contest yesterday, I realized there was a way for us to attack and defend at the same time."

"That's awesome!" said Dawn. Piplup nodded.

"Hey guys!" called Harry, "Wasn't expecting to see you here!" The trio and their Pokemon turned.

"Harry!" said Dawn, "What are you doing here?"

"I got lost on the way to Hearthome City," Harry said sheepishly, "I helped a little girl find her Kricketune and ended up here," he noticed the tiny pink Pokemon Brock was holding, "Brock, I didn't know you had a Happiny."

"She hatched a few days ago," Brock replied as Harry took out his pokedex.

" _Happiny the Playhouse Pokemon. She_ _loves round white things. She carries a round stone in her pouch that looks like an egg, and gives it to people that she likes_."

"Happiny this is Harry, a friend of ours," Brock said. Happiny waved her tiny arms.

"So what's been happening since we last saw you?" asked Ash.

"Riolu defeated Maylene's Lucario single handed," Harry said proudly and showed them the Cobble Badge, "Also I met Paul's brother."

"How is Reggie?" asked Brock.

"He's fine," Harry said, "He's looking after Paul's Torterra at the moment. Despite being his Starter Pokemon, Torterra's got a much kinder attitude than Paul. He even apologized for the time he battled Vespiquen when Paul was trying to steal Spiritomb."

"Well a trainer's personality doesn't always rub off on their Pokemon," Brock said.

"Thank Arceus," Harry said, "So why are you guys here?"

"I got my third ribbon," Dawn said proudly and showed him.

"And thanks to Ambipom, I learned some moves can be used for attacking and defending at the same time," Ash said.

"Cool," Harry said, "Hey could you help my Chimchar learn that technique?"

"Sure," Ash said.

"I'll wait in the Pokemon Center," said Brock.

"Give Nurse Joy a _little_ space won't you?" Harry said smirking as he let Chimchar out of her Poke Ball. Ash's Chimchar bounded towards her and they high fived, pleased to see each other.

"Okay," Ash said, "Let's show Harry's Chimchar our new combination."

* * *

It turned out learning the Flame Wheel and Flamethrower combination wasn't actually very difficult for Chimchar. It only took her slightly over an hour to get the hang of it, although the Water Pokemon in the group had to put out a couple of fires first. The trio then went to find Brock.

"Brock, what did I say about giving Nurse Joy some space?" Harry groaned when he found the older boy flirting shamelessly with the nurse. Brock ignored him at first but suddenly stopped flirting and looked around.

"Croagunk?" he questioned. Strangely Croagunk had not used Poison Jab on him. In fact he was staring out of a window, paying no attention to Brock whatsoever.

"That's weird," Dawn said, "The only time Croagunk hasn't jabbed Brock was when we met Cynthia."

"Cynthia?" said Nurse Joy, "She's in town right now." The group all turned to her, "She used to live in Celestic Town so she came back to visit her grandmother and study the Adamant Orb and Lustrous Orb. Unfortunately the Adamant Orb was stolen just this morning."

"Stolen?" Ash asked, "By who?"

"Team Galactic," Nurse Joy said.

"Oh damn," Harry said and glanced at his friends who looked back at him.

"You know about them?" Ash asked.

"Yeah," Harry muttered, "Ran into them a couple of times. What about you?"

"We had an encounter with them in Veilstone City," Brock told him.

"Knowing Team Galactic, I wouldn't be surprised if they came after the Lustrous Orb too," Dawn said.

"We could go and check out the museum and see if Cynthia needs our help," Brock said.

"Are you just looking for an excuse to flirt with her again?" Harry asked, smirking. Brock blushed.

* * *

When they arrived at the Celestic Town Research Facility they found Cynthia along with a much older woman and several police officers. Cynthia glanced across at them absentmindedly, then refocused as she recognized them.

"Hi Cynthia!" called Dawn waving. Cynthia smiled.

"Hello," she said, "It's been a while."

"Far too long my beloved!" cried Brock and was on his knees in front of her a moment later, clutching her hand in both of his. The older woman stepped forwards.

"Excuse me young man!" she said, "Take your hands off my granddaughter!"

"It's alright grandmother," Cynthia said, "Nice to see you again Brock. You too Ash, Dawn and Harry."

"So these are the kids you told me about?" said her grandmother, "Well in that case I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm Carolina, Cynthia's grandmother." Although she had to be at least sixty years old, Carolina still looked quite young considering the fact that her granddaughter was in her twenties. Her blonde hair had not yet gone entirely grey.

"Pleased to meet you," Ash said, "So Cynthia, how about you and I have a battle?" Cynthia blinked then smiled gently.

"Now's not a good time, Ash," she said.

"Besides my granddaughter would wipe the floor with you," Carolina said confidently, "She's the greatest trainer I've ever seen and I've been on this planet for a long time!"

"I think you're biased, Grandmother," Cynthia said humbly.

"Oh don't be so modest dear," Carolina replied heartily, "Even the Elite 4 can't defeat you!"

"Yet," Cynthia added.

"Carolina!" called a voice and everyone turned as the speaker approached.

He was a young man with bluish grey hair dressed smartly in a business suit. Riolu instantly tensed, feeling that weird lack of emotion that he had only ever felt once before. Harry glanced at Riolu, then at the man and became wary when he recognized him. Riolu's Aura Abilities may not be as strong as a Lucario's, but Harry knew better than to ignore his Starter Pokémon when he was agitated. If the man recognized either Harry or Riolu he gave no sign of it, not even in his Aura.

"Oh hello, Cyrus," said Carolina, "What are you doing here?"

"I got worried when I discovered the Adamant Orb had been stolen, so I came to check on the Lustrous Orb," said Cyrus, "Its still here isn't it? It's safe?" He sounded worried and looked it too but Riolu still couldn't feel anything emanating from him.

"Don't worry, Cyrus," Carolina said, "We've tightened security and got the orb locked away safely."

"Good," Cyrus said looking and sounding but, according to Riolu's Aura sense, not feeling relieved.

"Cyrus is a wealthy businessman," Cynthia explained to the group, "He and grandmother go back a long way. She used to mentor him when he was a student in Sunnyshore City." She stepped forwards, "I don't think we've ever really been introduced Cyrus."

"No need my dear," Cyrus said, "I know exactly who you are. The Sinnoh Champion Cynthia. This is an honour." He bowed his head to her. Riolu was still scanning him with Aura and getting increasingly agitated but only Harry noticed.

"Is it him?" he asked very quietly to the Emanation Pokemon. Riolu nodded. The pair watched Cyrus warily, remembering his weird soliloquy during their brief encounter in Mount Coronet. The others didn't think there was anything out of the ordinary about him.

* * *

The group entered the facility and Cynthia and Carolina told them a bit about the legends of Dialga and Palkia. They entered a room with a strange stone slab with carvings of three Pokemon at each corner of a triangle. An orb was in the middle of the triangle; it was impossible to tell which of the orbs it represented.

"Wow, what an impressive piece," said Dawn and then looked at the Pokemon in the bottom left hand corner, "Wait, I've seen that before!"

"You've seen Mesprit?" asked Carolina in astonishment.

"Well it was like a ghost or a spirit or something," Dawn said, "I couldn't see it properly but it was the same shape."

"And I saw this Pokemon at Lake Valor," Ash said.

"That's Azelf," said Cynthia.

"So the one at the top must be Uxie," Harry said, "My grandfather told me about them."

"How did he know about them?" asked Carolina, "Very few people outside Celestic Town know of these three Pokemon's existence."

"Well he is Sinnoh's most famous Professor," Harry said.

"You're Professor Rowan's grandson?" Carolina exclaimed.

"Yeah," Harry said, "I don't like to spread it around too much though."

"Professor," said Cyrus, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but if Ash and Dawn saw Mesprit and Azelf, perhaps we should show them the Lustrous Orb. It might be important to your research." Riolu jumped in front of him.

"Riolu! Lu, Riolu!" he shouted shaking his head. Cyrus looked surprised.

"Excuse me?" he asked. He looked at Harry for an explanation. Harry debated about whether he should mention their encounter in Mount Coronet. There was no indication that Cyrus even remembered that. In the end, he decided not to mention it.

"Riolu doesn't trust you," he said instead.

"Young man, Cyrus is a well respected businessman," said Carolina indignantly, "And I've known him since he was a young boy!"

"Riolu can sense Aura," Harry said, "And he doesn't feel anything coming from you, Cyrus. I'm sorry but you make him uncomfortable."

"Are you saying I don't have an Aura?" Cyrus asked.

"No, I'm saying that Riolu can't sense anything coming _from_ your Aura," Harry said. Everyone was looking at Riolu except Harry and Cyrus who were looking at each other.

Finally Riolu felt something. Just the slightest spark of emotion. It felt like annoyance. A split second later, Cyrus was completely unreadable again.

"I think your Riolu may be a bit paranoid," he said, "If you want, I'll stay outside the vault while you take a look at the orb."

"That sounds like a fair compromise," said Carolina and glared at Riolu. Riolu watched Cyrus warily but calmed down. The group headed towards the vault.

When they arrived, they found two police officers waiting outside. Carolina was the only person permitted to enter. The scanner by the door read her hand print and the vault opened. Cyrus stood back while Riolu kept a close eye on him. The others entered the vault.

A beautiful silver sphere in a case gleamed in the middle of the room. Everyone except Cyrus and Riolu entered. Harry stayed by the door.

"It's beautiful," said Dawn.

"Indeed," Cyrus said; although Riolu wasn't letting him past, he could still see the orb quite clearly, "Its beauty is timeless. Tell me; do you feel anything?" He was speaking to everyone but he looked at Riolu. Cautiously Riolu reached out with his Aura senses.

None of the humans sensed anything and neither did Pikachu or Piplup. But Riolu felt a massive surge of power emanating from the orb. It wasn't even a living thing but its Aura was tremendous.

"Riolu feels something," Harry said, noticing his Starter Pokemon's expression which was a combination of awe and fear. Cyrus smiled and patted Riolu's head. The Emanation Pokemon instantly spun around and jumped on him, knocking him to the ground, "Riolu!" Harry grabbed the Emanation Pokemon's arm and pulled him off Cyrus, "Sorry. Riolu's never been this aggressive before." Cyrus rubbed his head.

"That's alright," he grunted and picked himself up, "Quite a feisty little fellow, isn't he?"

"Yeah," Harry frowned at Riolu and mouthed, "Behave." Riolu folded his arms and turned away.

"Riolu must have felt the power of Palkia within the Lustrous Orb," Cyrus said, "Its power is said to be enhanced by the Orb whilst Dialga gains power from the Adamant Orb. According to legend the Creator of all Pokemon created the orbs along with Dialga, Palkia, Giratina and the Lake Guardians."

"By the Creator I assume you mean Arceus?" Harry said, "My dad heard stories about it when he was a kid. Grandfather and mum weren't sure whether to believe in Arceus or not, but I've always wondered how else the Universe could exist in the first place."

"Exactly," Cyrus nodded approvingly, "Science can only explain so much. If the Universe was formed by atoms, who or what formed the atoms?"

"But then who or what formed whatever formed the atoms?" pointed out Brock.

"A fair point," Cyrus conceded, "Perhaps we'll never know about Arceus. But I'm positive that Dialga and Palkia exist. The orbs prove it." He leaned on the vault's doorframe and looked at his watch, "I've stayed too long. I should get going." He turned but at that moment the building shook. It was only a slight tremor but everyone noticed.

"What was that?" Ash asked. The two police officers who had been guarding the vault suddenly picked up their radios as Officer Jenny's voice sounded through the devices.

"There's been an explosion at the ruins! The area's overrun with Golbat!"

"Team Galactic!" Ash growled.

"What do you want us to do?" one of the officers spoke into his radio.

"Make sure the Lustrous Orb is safe!" ordered Jenny, "Do whatever it takes to protect it!" There was a loud beeping from the control panel.

"That's odd," said Carolina, "The doors don't seem to want to close."

"What?" the second police officer cried.

"So what do we do?" asked Dawn.

"If the Orb's not safe in the vault then we need to move it," Cynthia said decisively.

"To where?" Harry said.

"Worry about that once we've gotten it out of the facility," Cynthia said.

"We'll all help protect the Orb," Ash said.

"Good," said Carolina, "Then let's go!"

The two officers rolled the orb out of the vault and the group ran towards the main entrance. Suddenly Brock stopped as Croagunk burst out of his Poke Ball and strode down another corridor.

"Croagunk, where are you going?" Brock asked but Croagunk ignored him. He was on a mission, "You guys go on ahead. I'll catch up." The others nodded and Brock hurried after Croagunk.

The others made it to the front lobby only to find the way barred by a Galactic Commander Harry hadn't met before, but Ash and Dawn recognized. There were six Galactic Grunts with him, a Bronzor and a large group of Golbat.

"Saturn!" cried Ash. Saturn raised an eyebrow.

"So glad you remember me," he said, "Now how about handing over that Lustrous Orb?"

"Not a chance," Cynthia said defiantly.

"My dear, you may be the Champion," Saturn said calmly, "But you and your friends are vastly outnumbered. You see Bronzor has put all the Police Officers outside to sleep and Toxicroak will be dealing with anyone left on the inside. Essentially you lot are the orb's last line of defense. It would be easier for all of us if you just handed it over."

"Not gonna happen," Ash said and he, Dawn and Harry all stepped forwards. Pikachu, Piplup and Riolu jumped in front of them. Saturn scowled.

"Fine," he said, "Bronzor Hypnosis!"

"Garchomp, battle dance!" Cynthia cried and Garchomp burst out of her Poke Ball with a mighty roar, "Brick Break!" Bronzor tried to use Hypnosis but Garchomp was too fast. A single mighty blow from one of the massive fins on her arms sent Bronzor crashing to the ground. Saturn grunted in irritation and recalled his defeated Pokemon. "Officers," Cynthia turned to the two police officers, "We'll hold them here. You need to get the Orb out of the building. Grandmother, Cyrus you go too."

"Right," Cyrus nodded. Riolu had finally stopped trying to sense his emotions, instead focussing on the Pokemon ahead of them. Cyrus and Carolina turned around with the two officers but then found a red haired woman and several more Galactic Grunts blocking the way. Harry recognized her.

"Mars," he said, "Or whatever your real name is." Mars smirked at him.

"It's been a while, kid," she said, "Luckily for you, I'm still not interested in your Pokemon."

Suddenly the skylight above them smashed and a small shape came tumbling down, landing hard on the floor.

"Croagunk!" cried Ash and a moment later a larger and much more deadly looking creature lunged down from the skylight. The Toxicroak had two sharp claws on the back of each hand and it stabbed one of those claws mercilessly into Croagunk's stomach.

"No Croagunk!" Brock yelled from the skylight. The Toxicroak sneered sadistically at Croagunk, enjoying the agony in its pre-evolution's face. Then it twisted its claw just to add more pain before jumping away and landing beside Saturn. Croagunk slumped with a horrible wound in his stomach.

"What the hell is that thing!" cried Harry, more out of shock than anything else. Once the shock subsided, he realized it was a Toxicroak and took out his pokedex.

" _Toxicroak the Toxic Mouth Pokemon and the evolved form of Croagunk. The toxin made in its poison sacs is pumped to the knuckle claws through tubes down its arms_."

Dawn picked up Croagunk who was bleeding from the stab wound in his belly.

"I think Croagunk should serve as an example of what we're willing to do to get the orb," Saturn said, "But to tell you the truth, I would prefer not to use anymore violence."

"Well you're going to have to, you scum!" Cynthia looked both beautiful and terrifying when she was angry. It was very different from her usually gentle personality, "We won't let you get away with the Orb or with harming Croagunk! Gastrodon, battle dance!" A pink and brown slug like Pokemon appeared beside Garchomp and glared at the Team Galactic members with three eyes.

" _Gastrodon the Sea Slug Pokemon and the evolved form of Shellos_. _It has a pliable body without any bones. If any part of its body is torn off, it grows right back_."

"Very well," said Saturn, "You leave us no choice. Attack!"


	34. Galactic Heist Part 2

Surrounded on all sides, the Harry, Cynthia, Ash and Dawn's Pokemon fought desperately to fend of the dozen's of Golbat flying around the lobby. Gastrodon was striking them with Stone Edge whilst Garchomp used Dragon Claw. Pikachu used Thunderbolt and Piplup used Bubblebeam. Riolu shot a Hidden Power but then stopped fighting the Golbat when Mars sent out a familiar fat cat.

"Purugly, come on out!" she cried and the evolved form of Glameow appeared and smirked when she recognized Riolu, "Use Aerial Ace!"

"Counter!" Harry ordered. Purugly darted towards Riolu, surrounding herself with white streaks. Riolu glowed red and Purugly slammed into him before being sent flying backwards by Counter, "Use Brick Break!"

"Riolu!" Riolu slammed a Brick Break right onto Purugly's head, knocking her out.

"No Purugly!" cried Mars, actually looking a bit concerned for her defeated Pokemon.

"I'm not the weak little boy you battled at Valley Windwork's anymore," Harry told her.

"Toxicroak use Sludge Bomb on Riolu," ordered Saturn and Toxicroak fired filthy bombs from its mouth at Riolu. The Emanation Pokemon was blasted into the wall by the explosion the Sludge Bomb caused when it hit, "You know boy, if your Riolu was a Lucario that wouldn't have done any damage."

"Riolu return," Harry recalled Riolu.

"Pikachu use Volt Tackle on Toxicroak!" ordered Ash and Pikachu charged at Toxicroak, surrounding himself with electricity as he ran.

"Dodge," Saturn said and Toxicroak stepped aside, "Poison Jab!" Just like it had with poor Croagunk, Toxicroak thrust one of its lethal claws at Pikachu. Unlike Croagunk, Pikachu had no protection from the poison.

"Iron Tail!" screamed Ash and Pikachu managed to get his front paws back on the floor and turn his backside towards Toxicroak so that his Iron Tail clumsily knocked its hand away before the monster gutted him. Nonetheless it still left a shallow but nasty scratch down his back leg. Saturn smirked when he saw the scratch.

"A scratch is all that's necessary," he said ominously. Pikachu glowed purple and screamed as Toxicroak's Poison surged through his body. "Use X-Scissor and finish that rat!" Toxicroak crossed its arms, then grimaced as sparks surrounded it. Pikachu's Static had kicked in when the Poison Jab scratched him.

"Giga Impact!" ordered Cynthia and Garchomp became surrounded by purple and yellow light before smashing into Toxicroak with all her strength. Toxicroak was hurled straight into the closed doors behind the Team Galactic members. It hit them with such force that they were slammed open by the impact and Toxicroak landed at the edge of the steps outside, unconscious.

"Toxicroak!" cried Saturn then looked up at the Golbat's that were still flying all over the room, "Garchomp's got to recharge! Get it!" All the Golbat converged on Garchomp, their fangs glowing purple as they prepared to tear into her with Poison Fang.

"Return!" Cynthia rescued Garchomp just in time with her Poke Ball and Gastrodon happened to be just behind the place where Garchomp was previously standing. Cynthia's plan had worked perfectly. "Stone Edge!"

"Gastrodoooon!" cried Gastrodon and sharp stones spun around its body before shooting towards the unfortunate Golbat, knocking them all out. Despite their superior numbers, Team Galactic suddenly found themselves at a disadvantage. Without their Pokemon, their trap was falling apart.

Nobody noticed the tiny frown on Cyrus' face.

"You stupid thugs actually thought you could defeat my granddaughter just because you have more Pokemon?" Carolina taunted. Saturn ignored her and looked at Cynthia with reluctant respect.

"You've certainly earned your title of Champion," he admitted grudgingly.

"That was awesome, Cynthia," Ash said. Pikachu joined him and grinned, then winced in agony. Cynthia noticed Pikachu's condition, then the scratch. She suddenly looked very grim.

"Ash," she said, "Pikachu needs to go to the Pokemon Center! A single scratch from a Toxicroak can be fatal!" Ash's eyes widened in horror and he turned to Saturn.

"Your Toxicroak was trying to kill Pikachu?" he yelled. Saturn shrugged.

"I warned you not to get in our way," he said then opened another Poke Ball. A yellow Pokemon that somewhat resembled a bipedal fox with a moustache appeared. Dawn scanned the creature.

" _Kadabra the Psy Pokemon and the evolved form of Abra. Its spoon appears from nowhere when it completes its evolution and enhances its Psychic abilities._ "

"You should tend to your Pokemon's wounds," Saturn advised, "Then come to the Solaceon Ruins."

"Why?" asked Ash.

"Because a lot of Police Officers are being held hostage there," Saturn said smirking, "And while I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, I assure you I will not hesitate to give the command to have them all killed." Kadabra Teleported every single member of Team Galactic out of the lobby at the same time.

"Damn it," Harry muttered, "Of course they had a backup plan."

"If we don't hand over the Orb they'll kill those Police Officers," said Cynthia grimly. At that moment, Brock caught up with them.

"Is everyone okay?" he asked then saw Croagunk who was still in Dawn's arms, "Croagunk!" Dawn gently handed the wounded Pokemon to him.

"Brock and Ash, you two get Croagunk and Pikachu to the Pokemon Center right now," Cynthia ordered, "Harry, Dawn, we need to go to the Solaceon Ruins."

"But what about the Orb?" Dawn asked.

"It seems that we have no choice but to hand it over," Cyrus said, "I think Saturn fully intends to go through with his threat if we don't."

"But the Lustrous Orb controls Palkia," Carolina said, "If we give it to those thugs, it could have catastrophic consequences."

"And the blood of dozens of people isn't a catastrophic consequence?" Cynthia challenged, "I don't like it any more than you do Grandmother, but we can't risk those people's lives." Carolina looked at her granddaughter and finally nodded.

* * *

Harry, Dawn and Cynthia arrived at the Solaceon Ruins and discovered that most of the Police Officers were either asleep from Bronzor's Hypnosis or had been knocked unconscious. A purple haired woman, Jupiter, was standing with Saturn and Mars. There were two Bronzor with them one belonging to Jupiter and the other to Mars, in addition to Saturn's Kadabra and Jupiter's Skuntank.

The only Police Officer who wasn't unconscious or sleeping right now was Officer Jenny. Her hands had been bound behind her back with her own handcuffs. Her mouth was gagged with a long, thick piece of cloth tied tightly around her head. She was looking a bit dishevelled and her hat was missing but she was struggling in Jupiter's grip. Her face was red with anger and she screamed into the gag.

"So good of you to join us," said Saturn.

"Now hand over the Lustrous Orb!" ordered Mars.

"Or my Skuntank will Poison everyone in this ruin," finished Jupiter. Harry remembered when Skuntank had stabbed Riolu and knew the creature would do what Jupiter said if they didn't hand over the Orb. Officer Jenny screamed something into her gag and shook her head frantically at Harry, Dawn and Cynthia.

"Kadabra use Shock Wave on Jenny," ordered Saturn and Kadabra shot a bolt of electricity from its spoon. Jenny shrieked as she was electrocuted by the attack.

"Stop it!" yelled Cynthia, "You people are monsters!"

"Maybe so but we're holding all the cards right now," Jupiter said and sneered, "So be nice." Cynthia was shaking with rage.

"Fine take the Orb!" she spat and picked up the large sphere. She stormed across to Saturn who held out his hand with an infuriatingly smug grin on his face. He took the Orb from her.

"Much obliged," he said.

"Now let the hostages go!" Dawn demanded. Saturn nodded at Jupiter and she shoved Officer Jenny. With her hands bound behind her back, Jenny couldn't break her fall so she landed painfully while Jupiter chuckled cruelly. Saturn was still smirking. The only Galactic Commander who seemed a little uncomfortable about the situation was Mars.

"Kadabra," said Saturn, "Get us out of here." Kadabra nodded and Teleported the three Galactic Commanders and their subordinates away. Officer Jenny looked furious. Cynthia hurried towards her and reached for the gag. It had been tied brutally tight but she managed to undo the knot and remove it. Jenny spat out a second cloth that had been stuffed into her mouth.

"You shouldn't have done that!" Jenny said.

"They were going to kill you and the other Officers," Cynthia said as she freed her hands from the cuffs.

"But the Orb…" Jenny began.

"We'll find it somehow," Cynthia said, sounding much more confident than she felt.

* * *

Cyrus was staring out of the window when Harry, Cynthia, Dawn and Jenny arrived at the Pokemon Center. Harry and Dawn rushed to find Ash and Brock.

"Ash, Brock!" Dawn cried when they found the pair with their wounded Pokemon. The two boys looked up, "How are they?"

"Croagunk will be fine," Brock said, "It was a nasty wound but it didn't hit anything vital and Croagunk's immune to the Poison side effect." Harry looked at Ash who was watching Pikachu. He had a look that Harry hadn't seen before. His face was expressionless but his eyes were filled with fear. Ash was trying to numb himself to the panic he was feeling by attempting to be as emotionless as Cyrus. It was rather disturbing.

"Ash?" Harry asked.

"Shouldn't you get Riolu checked?" Ash asked monotonously. Now Harry and Dawn were worried. Ash had never spoken like that before.

"Ash is Pikachu…?" Dawn began.

"I don't know!" Ash yelled suddenly, "Nurse Joy said the Poison's spread! She and Chansey did everything they could but…" he looked like he was about to cry, "She said Pikachu might still die!"

"Ash, Pikachu's tough," Dawn said soothingly, "He'll be okay." Her voice was trembling slightly.

"If Pikachu dies, I swear I'm gonna kill Saturn and that Toxicroak!" Ash snarled. He looked so angry, distraught, terrified and downright _dangerous_ right now that his friends had no doubt he would go through with it if he ever got the chance. Even Brock had never seen this side of him. Pikachu was Ash's partner and best friend. The pair were virtually family; some might even say brothers if not for the species difference. Pikachu had been with Ash longer than any of them, even Brock, "Pikachu's got to make it! He's got to!"

"I… I need to make sure Riolu's okay," Harry mumbled, "Excuse me."

* * *

Ash sat by Pikachu's bed all though the night. The others tried to persuade him to get some sleep but he either ignored them or snapped at them. Cynthia visited a couple of times but rather than try to persuade Ash to sleep, she just watched the heart monitor above Pikachu's bed and occasionally glanced at him and his distraught trainer.

"Ash," Cynthia said suddenly. Ash ignored her, "Ash, the heart monitor." Ash's head shot up. Pikachu's heartbeat had sped up just a little. Cynthia checked over Pikachu and Ash remembered she had treated all of Paul's Pokemon after defeating him. Finally Cynthia straightened up and smiled, "He'll be okay."

"Really?" Ash said excitedly.

"Yes," Cynthia confirmed, "But I suggest you don't make him battle for at least a week. It will take at least that long for him to regain his strength."

"Okay," Ash said and turned to Pikachu. The Mouse Pokemon's ear twitched. He opened his eyes and smiled weakly.

"Pika Pi," he said quietly. Ash was crying with relief. The door opened and his friends came in. Cynthia glanced at them and smiled. The trio, Riolu and Piplup remained silent, as they understood what Cynthia was silently telling them, while Ash hugged Pikachu gently.

"I was afraid I lost you," Ash said quietly. Pikachu hugged him back. Dawn wiped away a tear.

"So he's okay?" Harry asked.

"As long as Ash gives him at least a week of rest, he'll make a full recovery," Cynthia confirmed.

"Thank Arceus," Harry said. Beside him Riolu nodded.

"Cynthia?" asked Dawn suddenly, "Where did Cyrus go?" At the sound of the emotionless man's name, Harry tensed and Riolu scowled.

"I have no idea," Cynthia admitted.

 **I'd really appreciate some more reviews, especially on my portrayal of Team Galactic.**


	35. The Frenemy

Whilst heading towards Hearthome City, Harry learned that Dawn had caught a Swinub in Mr Backlot's garden and Ash now had a Gliscor. Pikachu was unable to get involved in any of the groups training but some their other Pokemon worked on using moves to attack and defend at the same time. Dawn even came up with a name for the technique; Counter Shield.

Eventually the group stopped at a Pokemon Center in time to witness the end of a battle between Cynthia and a member of the Elite 4, Aaron.

"Beautifly Energy Ball!" ordered Aaron who was down to his last Pokemon. Beautifly formed a green orb and flapped its wings to send the orb flying towards Cynthia's Gastrodon.

"Stone Edge!" Cynthia ordered and Gastrodon used Stone Edge to form a barrier around itself, destroying the Energy Ball before firing the stones straight at Beautifly, knocking it out with a single attack.

"Blimey," Harry muttered, "Cynthia just stomped a member of the Elite 4. And her Gastrodon has its own version of Counter Shield."

"Yeah I guess my idea for Counter Shield wasn't so original after all," Ash said.

"Well technically it was my idea," Dawn said.

"Yeah but I developed it," Ash replied.

"Guys look who's here," said Brock grimly and they looked up to see Paul walking towards them.

"How did everything end up with Chimchar's Blaze?" Paul asked Ash.

"Wait what?" Harry hadn't heard this story.

"I know Blaze is a powerful Ability," Ash said, "but Chimchar can beat opponents without it." Paul shrugged and walked away.

"I'm missing something here," Harry said, "What's this about Blaze?"

"I had a battle with Paul recently and Chimchar went out of control," Ash explained, "He can't control his Blaze Ability."

"What do you mean he can't control it?" Harry asked.

"When Blaze activated Chimchar went crazy," Dawn explained.

"That's weird," said Harry, "My Chimchar's never had any problems with Blaze."

"Well your Chimchar doesn't have a traumatic past," Brock pointed out.

"Fair point," Harry said, "But aren't a Pokemon's Ability and their psychological state two very different things?"

"Well yeah, but in Ash's Chimchar's case they're obviously linked," Brock said.

"Well that doesn't matter right now," Ash said, "How about we go and do some training?"

* * *

Harry was hoping his own Chimchar could help Ash's Chimchar learn to control Blaze. The only problem was that in order to activate Blaze, the Pokemon had to have taken a lot of damage beforehand.

"Chimchar the only way you're going to learn to control Blaze is if you activate it," Ash told his Chimchar.

"The trouble is you can't do that unless you're exhausted," Harry said regretfully then looked at his own Chimchar, "Chimchar the only way we can help Ash's Chimchar is if we show him that you can use Blaze without going mad." Chimchar nodded. Harry grimaced guiltily. This felt like the time he'd ordered Luxray, as a Luxio, to shock Buizel to increase his resistance to electricity.

The group didn't notice Paul and his Pokémon training nearby. Paul's Torterra had returned to his team and was watching along with his Gliscor while Magmar helped Electabuzz master Light Screen by attacking him with Flamethrower. Paul nodded to Electabuzz when Light Screen held.

"That's good Electabuzz," Paul grunted, offering a rare compliment to his Pokémon. Unlike Chimchar, Electabuzz actually met Paul's high standards. As cold as he was, Paul wasn't averse to giving compliments as long as his Pokémon worked hard for them.

Then Paul heard Harry's Drapion roaring nearby. Paul had recently caught a Drapion of his own but it was with Reggie at the moment, hopefully training with Reggie's more experienced Drapion. Paul had been careful to make sure their Drapion were both female because the last thing he wanted was for Reggie to have an excuse to breed them.

Paul watched as Harry and Ash had Drapion and Buizel attack both of their Chimchar, clearly trying to get them to activate Blaze. Paul approached to give the two hypocrites a piece of his mind.

"You're using my technique," Paul said bluntly and everyone turned to him. Harry flinched, remembering how horrible he'd felt for what he'd done to Buizel in the Tag Battle Tournament.

"We're nothing like you!" Ash snarled.

"You're having your Pokemon attack both of your Chimchar's in order to activate Blaze," Paul said, as if talking to two very slow children, "How is that any different from what I do?"

"The difference is that we're trying to help our Pokemon control Blaze not just activate it for the sake of becoming stronger!" Ash growled.

"But you're still abusing your Pokemon in order to do it," Paul said, "You're both hypocrites." Harry winced as if Paul had punched him. He hated hypocrisy but Paul was right.

"How about we both have a battle with you and show you the difference between being cruel to your Pokemon and helping them get stronger?" Ash challenged angrily.

"Ash, it wouldn't be a fair fight if we battled Paul together," Harry pointed out.

"I've battled two trainers at the same time before and I bet Paul has too," Ash said dismissively.

"You're right, I have," Paul confirmed, "I'll take you both on."

"Fine," Harry said, "Drapion ready to go?" Drapion stepped forwards.

"Turtwig let's go," Ash said and Turtwig appeared beside Drapion.

"Honchkrow, Weavile stand by for battle!" Paul said and released the two Dark types, one of which was also a Flying type and the other an Ice type. Ash scanned Honchkrow.

" _Honchkrow the Big Boss Pokemon and the evolved form of Murkrow. If one utters a deep cry, many Murkrow gather quickly. For this, it is called "Summoner of Night"_."

"Drapion Pin Missile!" Harry ordered. Drapion shot pins from all of his claws, two on each hand and two on the end of his tail.

"Turtwig Razor Leaf!" called Ash and Turtwig swung his head, sending sharp leaves toward both Weavile and Honchkrow.

"Dodge it," Paul ordered and Honchkrow took to the sky while Weavile weaved its way between the leaves and Pin Missile, closing in on Turtwig as it moved, "Both of you use Aerial Ace!" While Honchkrow dived at Drapion, surrounded by white streaks, Weavile, also surrounded by white streaks, lunged at Turtwig. Turtwig was sent flying by Weavile's Aerial Ace and Drapion went sliding back a few feet as Honchkrow slammed into him, then soared up and away.

"Turtwig, Bite Weavile!" ordered Ash and Turtwig clamped his jaws around Weavile's right arm.

"Ice Punch!" Paul ordered and Weavile clenched its free fist which glowed with icy energy. Then it punched Turtwig and sent him flying whilst simultaneously freezing him.

"Turtwig!" cried Ash. Paul smirked.

"Dark Pulse, Honchkrow!" he ordered.

"Drapion protect Turtwig with your Dark Pulse!" Harry ordered. Drapion leapt in front of Turtwig and launched black rings from between his claws while Honchkrow launched them from its beak. There was an explosion when the Dark Pulses collided.

"Turtwig use Synthesis!" Ash ordered. Although Turtwig was frozen, he didn't need to move in order to absorb light. As he drew upon the suns rays to heal, he slowly but surely started melting the ice.

"Weavile Ice Punch on Drapion and Honchkrow Aerial Ace on Turtwig!" Paul ordered. While Weavile lunged at Drapion from the front, Honchkrow circled around behind to where Turtwig was still in the process of thawing. Drapion couldn't protect Turtwig and himself at the same time so while he crossed his arms to block Weavile's Ice Punch, Turtwig was sent flying by another Aerial Ace, "Ice Punch on Turtwig!"

"Vile!" Weavile broke off from Drapion and darted towards Turtwig, nailing him with an Ice Punch before he even hit the ground.

"Drapion use Cross Poison on Weavile!" Harry ordered and Drapion lunged at Weavile and slashed it with his crossed, purple claws. Weavile hit the ground hard but quickly recovered.

Beside Drapion, Turtwig suddenly began to glow. He grew larger and two bushes appeared on his back. A moment later a Grotle stood in Turtwig's place.

"Awesome!" Ash said and took out his pokedex.

" _Grotle the Grove Pokemon and the evolved form of Turtwig. Its shell is hardened soil and some Pokémon come to eat berries that can grow from the bushes on its back_."

"Alright Grotle use Energy Ball on Honchkrow!" ordered Ash and Grotle formed an Energy Ball in his mouth and then fired it at Honchkrow, landing a direct hit.

"Drapion Pin Missile on Honchkrow!" ordered Harry and Drapion launched Pin Missile which knocked Honchkrow out of the sky.

"Grotle Razor Leaf!" ordered Ash.

"Weavile Metal Claw!" Paul ordered. Weavile jumped in front of Honchkrow as the Big Boss Pokemon recovered from the double whammy. With astonishing precision, Weavile cut down every single Razor Leaf with its Metal Claw.

"Cross Poison!" ordered Harry and Drapion lunged at Weavile.

"Haze!" called Paul and Honchkrow blew a black fog from its beak hiding both itself and Weavile from view, "Weavile Ice Punch, Honchkrow Sky Attack!" From somewhere in the Haze there came a roar of pain fron Drapion as Weavile hit him with a freezing Ice Punch. A moment later Honchkrow's Sky Attack sent Drapion flying out of the smoke towards Grotle.

"Dodge it Grotle!" Ash shouted and Grotle tried to but was too slow. Drapion slammed into him and the pair landed in a heap on the ground, "Grotle what happened? You're usually much faster than that."

"Drapion, you okay?" Harry asked. Drapion just grunted and picked himself up. The Haze cleared away. Paul was smirking.

"Honchkrow use Sky Attack on Grotle," he ordered, "Weavile Metal Claw on Drapion." Honchkrow glowed white and Weavile lunged and slashed Drapion across the face with Metal Claw.

"Crunch!" Harry called and Drapion's fangs glowed white before he bit the arm Weavile had just used to slash him.

"Energy Ball!" ordered Ash. Grotle fired an Energy Ball and hit Honchkrow but the Big Boss Pokemon continued as if nothing had happened, "Dodge it!" Grotle tried but was too slow. Honchkrow knocked him off his feet.

"Ice Punch!" ordered Paul and Weavile used its free fist to nail Drapion right in the face with Ice Punch. Apparently Weavile was ambidextrous as it hit just a hard with its left fist as it had with its right. Poor Drapion must have been given brain freeze by the attack. He crashed to the ground and didn't get up again.

"Drapion return," Harry said recalling the defeated Ogre Scorp Pokemon.

"Grotle use Tackle on Weavile!" ordered Ash and Grotle thundered towards Weavile but he was still moving far too slowly.

"Pathetic," Paul grunted, "Dodge it Weavile!" Weavile jumped out of the way, "Honchkrow, Dark Pulse!" Honchkrow blasted the Grove Pokemon with Dark Pulse, "Now use Sky Attack!"

"Dodge it!" yelled Ash and Grotle tried to do so but once again was too slow. Honchkrow slammed into him and knocked him out. Weavile just watched with its arms folded and an amused smirk.

Paul hadn't used both of his Pokemon to attack Grotle after Drapion was defeated but that made the defeat all the more humiliating, at least for Ash. It proved that Paul had been in control throughout the entire battle, despite facing two opponents at the same time. Paul didn't say anything but just recalled Weavile and Honchkrow and walked away.

Nobody noticed that Paul's Torterra had watched Grotle's defeat.

* * *

Drapion and Grotle both rested in the Pokemon Center. Harry wasn't too bothered about losing to Paul, comforting himself with the thought that he'd won once before against Paul's strongest Pokemon, but Ash was gutted.

"What happened to Grotle?" asked Dawn while Grotle and Drapion were resting, "I thought evolving makes a Pokemon stronger."

"The thing is, Grotle's bigger and heavier than he was as a Turtwig," Brock said, "He needs time to get used to his new body, which is why he wasn't able to move as quickly as he could before evolving."

"I can't believe Paul beat both of us at the same time," Ash muttered. Harry shrugged.

"I've beaten Paul before," he said.

"Well I've only ever fought him to a draw and that was only once," Ash muttered then admitted, "I got overconfident because I'd just beaten the Battle Frontier."

"Paul's an asshole but he's a powerful trainer," Harry pointed out, "Even Cynthia thinks so."

"But how he trains his Pokemon is wrong!" Ash said.

"It's effective though," Harry said, "And let's face it, he was right when he said you and I use similar methods."

"Yeah but we care about our Pokemon," Ash pointed out. Harry nodded.

"Yeah but that's the only really big difference between us as far as raising Pokemon is concerned," he said. Then he glanced at Drapion. The Ogre Scorp Pokemon was sleeping peacefully. Satisfied that he was okay, Harry walked away with Riolu by his side.

* * *

After Grotle had recovered from his battle with Honchkrow, he slipped out of the Pokemon Center. He went out behind the building and started trying to get faster. However in his new form, he was clumsy and slow. Grotle was starting to regret ever evolving in the first place.

"Grotle?" said Ash's voice. He, Dawn, Brock and Harry arrived while Grotle was fighting back tears.

"Poor Grotle's working so hard," said Dawn sadly.

"You know Grotle," Harry began, "When Vespiquen evolved she lost a lot of Speed too. That's why she had to change her fighting style. It's also why she needed to rely on Defend and Heal Order until she mastered Protect and Roost."

"The difference is that Vespiquen can fly," Brock pointed out, "So she can still move around more easily than Grotle."

"Terra," said a deep voice. The group all looked up as a giant "Moving Forest" entered the clearing.

"Hey that's Paul's Torterra," Brock said.

"Well this is interesting," murmured Harry.

"Torterra," Torterra looked at Grotle, "Terra." Grotle cocked his head to one side curiously. Torterra looked at Harry. Harry raised an eyebrow.

"What?" he asked.

"Terra, Torterra," Torterra replied.

"You want to battle me?" asked Harry, "Is this payback for the time Vespiquen beat you?" Torterra shook its head and looked at Grotle. Harry glanced between them, then realized what Torterra was planning to do, "Okay, Vespiquen go!" The Beehive Pokemon appeared and immediately recognized Torterra, who nodded at her respectfully.

"What's Torterra doing?" asked Dawn.

"It's trying to make a point to Grotle," said Brock, "We'll just have to see exactly what that point is."

"Vespiquen Bug Buzz!" ordered Harry and Vespiquen sent red sound waves washing over Torterra. Much like it had when they were fighting over Spiritomb, Torterra just stood there allowing the Bug Buzz to hit it, "Now use Gust and Power Gem!" Vespiquen used the same combination that made all the difference in her last battle with Torterra. After the massive explosion cleared, Torterra had been pushed back a few feet but still looked ready for more.

"Hey!" shouted a boy from the Pokemon Center window, "People are trying to sleep!"

"Sorry," Harry said and decided not to cause any more explosions right now, "Okay Vespiquen Slash." Vespiquen drew back her claws and lunged. She slashed Torterra right in the face. Torterra's head whipped to the side but it shrugged off the blow and looked at Vespiquen again, "Again." This time Torterra's head was jerked to the other side by the Slash.

"Why isn't Torterra doing anything?" asked Ash.

"Vespiquen, Slash again," Harry ordered and Vespiquen swung once more. This time however Torterra didn't just stand there and take it. The Continent Pokemon opened its mouth and used Crunch on Vespiquen's claws, stopping the Slash attack. Next Torterra blew Vespiquen away with a Leaf Storm at point blank range. Vespiquen shrugged off the Leaf Storm easily, taking very little damage, but then saw Torterra forming a Stone Edge. She knew from her last battle with the Continent Pokemon how much that move hurt.

"Vespiquen Protect!" Harry called and Vespiquen hastily formed a barrier around herself to block Stone Edge. As soon as the barrier faded however, Torterra landed a Leech Seed on her which started draining her energy. While Vespiquen was distracted by Leech Seed, Torterra formed another Stone Edge but instead of firing it, the Continent Pokemon just kept the stones spinning around its body. It looked at Grotle again while the stones continued spinning.

"Torterra," it said before allowing all the stones to drop to the ground rather than launching them. Grotle looked at Torterra, then at Vespiquen who was still getting energy sucked away by Leech Seed. Grotle nodded as he understood what Torterra was trying to tell him.

"I get it," Brock said, "Torterra's saying that Grotle doesn't need its Speed if it has a strong Defense. It allowed all those moves to hit until it felt like it was the right time to strike back."

"I guess you don't judge a Pokemon by its trainer," Ash said, "We're gonna have to come up with a whole new battle style for you, Grotle." Grotle nodded then looked at Torterra.

"Grotle," he said gratefully. Torterra nodded solemnly, then turned and left.

* * *

The next day the group was about to leave the Pokémon Center when they ran into Paul in the lobby. He looked at them. They looked back silently for a couple of seconds. They were all fairly sure that Paul knew what Torterra had done last night.

"Your Torterra's much nicer than you are," Harry told him simply. Paul shrugged.

"As long as it doesn't hold back in battle I don't care," he grunted and left the Pokemon Center.


	36. Fighting Fantina

Harry and his friends finally arrived back in Hearthome City. Harry agreed to battle Fantina after Ash so he could get an idea of her battle style whilst watching their battle first. Ash, having already fought Fantina once before in an unofficial battle and lost, was happy with the arrangement.

"Ah Ash!" said Fantina a tall woman with a voluminous purple dress which matched the colour of her hair, "It is good to see you again!"

"Hi Fantina," Ash said, "I'm here for our Gym battle."

"Oh but of course," Fantina said; she had a foreign accent. Then she saw Harry, "Ooh and who is this? Another challenger?"

"I'm Harry," Harry said, "Ash is going to show me how you battle while he gets his badge."

"Well I am not one to give up the Relic Badge easily," Fantina said, "Please come inside."

"I would be happy to!" cried Brock and jumped forwards. Fantina stepped gracefully aside and Brock fell clumsily inside the gym. Croagunk didn't even need to come out of his Poke Ball.

Inside the gym, Harry, Dawn, Brock, Piplup and Riolu sat in the stands while Ash and Fantina faced each other.

"Well let's see how much stronger you are Ash," Fantina said, "Viola Gengar!" A purple Ghost type with arms and legs appeared and landed in front of Ash. Dawn took out her pokedex.

" _Gengar the Shadow Pokemon and the final evolved form of Gastly. Gengar occasionally pretends to be people's shadows. When one is nearby it cools the area by approximately 10 degrees._ "

"It _is_ a little chillier in here," Harry said.

"Buizel, I choose you!" Ash sent out the Sea Weasel Pokemon who smirked at Gengar.

"Battle begin!" cried the referee.

"Buizel use Water Gun!" ordered Ash and Buizel fired a stream of water at Gengar.

"Use Night Shade, Gengar!" called Fantina and Gengar fired black beams from its eyes. The Night Shade pushed through the Water Gun and struck Buizel sending him flying backwards.

"Buizel!" cried Ash.

"Night Shade's an attack that gains more power as the Pokemon gains experience," Brock said, "For it to be that strong, Gengar must have been in loads of battles in the past."

"Alright Buizel, use Aqua Jet!" ordered Ash and Buizel flew towards Gengar.

"Into the air, Gengar!" called Fantina and Gengar sprang above Buizel to dodge the attack.

"Circle back around, Buizel!" called Ash and Buizel obeyed but Gengar floated sideways to avoid the attack, "Now Water Gun!" Buizel turned and fired a Water Gun but once again Gengar dodged the attack in mid-air.

"How is Gengar flying?" asked Dawn.

"That's Levitate, Gengar's Special Ability," Brock explained, "I've never really understood why it has that Ability considering it has legs."

"Gengar use Shadow Punch!" ordered Fantina and Gengar clenched its fist. Buizel jumped back as Gengar swung at him but a shadowy fist shot out from its real fist and struck him in the chin causing him to do a full somersault before landing on his stomach, "Shadow Punch cannot be avoided so it is useful against agile and evasive Pokemon. Now Gengar use Night Shade!"

"Buizel Water Pulse, then Aqua Jet!" Ash ordered as Gengar fired two black beams from its eyes. Buizel formed a Water Pulse then spun so that it was surrounded by Aqua Jet. The Water Pulse cushioned the impact when Buizel collided with the Night Shade. There was an explosion as the Water Pulse was destroyed but Buizel himself kept going and slammed into Gengar, "Good job, now Water Pulse once more!"

"Bui Bui!" cried Buizel who was now above Gengar. He hurled another Water Pulse straight down at the unfortunate Ghost type, slamming it into the ground and producing a wave of water at the same time. Buizel landed with a smirk in front of Gengar who lay on its back, unmoving.

"Gengar's unable to battle!" cried the referee, "The winner is Buizel!"

"NOOO!" cried Fantina melodramatically. Then she chuckled, showing that she wasn't really upset as she recalled Gengar, "Merci Gengar." She took out another Poke Ball and looked at Ash, "Using that combination of Water Pulse and Aqua Jet to attack Gengar whilst defending against Night Shade was magnifique, Ash. But let us see how well you do against my second Pokemon. Voila Mismagius!" Another Ghost Pokemon appeared. This one was also purple and was wearing what looked like a witch's hat and a pearl neckless. Harry scanned it.

" _Mismagius the Magical Pokemon and the evolved form of Misdreavus. Its cries sound like incantations. Most of these incantations torment those around it but some can bring happiness._ "

"Alright Buizel return," Ash said calling Buizel back into his Poke Ball, "Chimchar, I choose you!"

"Mismagius use Shadow Ball!" ordered Fantina and Mismagius formed a black orb in front of itself before firing it at Chimchar.

"Bounce of it then Flame Wheel!" ordered Ash and Chimchar actually jumped onto the Shadow Ball before leaping at Mismagius and surrounding himself with flames. He slammed into the Magical Pokemon and sent it flying backwards.

"Ah well done!" Fantina said, "But it will take more than that to defeat Mismagius. Psywave!" Mismagius' eyes glowed blue and a blue glow also surrounded its body before it fired blue waves out of its body which blew Chimchar into the ground. Chimchar jumped back onto his feet, ready for more.

"Chimchar Flamethrower!" ordered Ash and Chimchar launched a stream of flames from his mouth towards Mismagius.

"Psybeam!" called Fantina and Mismagius fired a multi-coloured beam from its eyes which collided with Flamethrower, creating an explosion.

"Use Flame Wheel!" ordered Ash.

"Blow it away with Psywave!" Fantina ordered. Chimchar closed in on Mismagius but the Ghost Pokemon's Psywave blasted him backwards, knocking him out of his Flame Wheel at the same time.

"Quick Flamethrower!" Ash ordered and Chimchar fired a stream of flames.

"Dodge it!" called Fantina and Mismagius easily avoided the attack, "Ash, if Flamethrower and Flame Wheel are the only moves Chimchar is going to use, it will not be enough to defeat my Mismagius. Use Psybeam!" Mismagius fired another multi-coloured beam.

"Jump Chimchar and show them Counter Shield!" Ash ordered.

"What is this?" Fantina looked confused as Chimchar jumped over the Psybeam and above the levitating Mismagius. He rolled into a Flame Wheel and then launching Flamethrower from within the Flame Wheel in midair. The fire whips from Flamethrower struck Mismagius several times as Chimchar got closer, "Oh dear! Quick Mismagius, Psywave!"

"Magius!" Mismagius unleashed another Psywave, successfully blowing away the Flamethrowers but Chimchar himself kept going and slammed into Mismagius with Flame Wheel, knocking it to the floor.

"Mismagius is unable to battle, Chimchar wins!"

"NOOO!" Fantina let out that melodramatic cry again, before smiling.

"Way to go Chimchar!" cried Ash. Chimchar jumped up and down on the spot looking very happy. Ash smiled at Fantina, "Thanks to Counter Shield, turns out Flame Wheel and Flamethrower _is_ enough to beat Mismagius."

"Indeed," agreed Fantina as she recalled Mismagius, "Merci Mismagius, you rest now." She smiled at Ash, "So Counter Shield. A unique technique that is, non?"

"Not exactly," admitted Ash, "We've seen Cynthia's Gastrodon use it."

"Well it is a magnifique technique," Fantina said, "Let us see if you can defeat my dear Drifblim. Voila!" The evolved form of Drifloon appeared. It has what looked like a cloud on top of its head and four long arms to replace the two string like ones it had as a Drifloon.

"Okay Chimchar use Flamethrower!" ordered Ash and Chimchar fired flames at Drifblim.

"Will-O-Wisp then use Psychic to make a barrier!" Fantina had to get the command out quickly as Flamethrower headed for Drifblim but the Blimp Pokemon reacted swiftly creating blue flames around its body before using Psychic to make them them spin rapidly. The Flamethrower collided with the spinning Will-O-Wisp but couldn't get through.

"Fantina didn't even need to do any special training with Drifblim to form Counter Shield!" Harry said in shock.

"She certainly deserves her position as Gym Leader," Brock said.

"Drifblim now Psychic on Chimchar!" ordered Fantina. In order to use Psychic on Chimchar, Drifblim had to stop controlling the Will-O-Wisp so it let the Counter Shield dissipate. Its tiny eyes glowed blue and a blue glow surrounded Chimchar. Drifblim then sent Chimchar flying into the wall.

"Chimchar!" cried Ash as Chimchar collapsed.

"Chimchar is unable to battle, Drifblim wins!"

"Good job Chimchar, you take a break," Ash recalled Chimchar, "Okay Buizel, I choose you!" Buizel appeared for the second time, "Use Aqua Jet!" Buizel shot towards Drifblim and slammed into it, knocking it backwards.

"Hypnosis!" ordered Fantina and Drifblim glowed blue and then fired an X shape from the X shape on its face.

"Dodge it and use Water Gun!" ordered Ash and Buizel jumped to avoid the X and squirted water at Drifblim.

"Dodge it and use Ominous Wind!" called Fantina and Drifblim dodged before spinning rapidly and blowing Buizel into the ground, "Now get close!" Drifblim darted forwards and grabbed Buizel's face with two of its four arms, "Hypnosis!" This time Drifblim fired the X shape at point blank range, giving Buizel no chance of dodging it. Buizel slumped to the ground, fast asleep.

"Buizel no!" cried Ash.

"Psychic!" called Fantina and Drifblim lifted Buizel into the air telekinetically then smashed him down on the ground very hard.

"Buizel is unable to battle, Drifblim wins!"

"I didn't know Drifblim could use Hypnosis," Harry said.

"Most can't," Brock said, "It's a move that Drifblim can only know if its father knew Hypnosis. Therefore its father has to be a Gengar or something like that."

"Do you think Harry's Drifloon could learn it?" asked Dawn.

"I doubt it," Brock said, "When a Pokemon inherits a move from its parents, it knows it from birth even if it takes a while for it to get the hang of using it. Harry's Drifloon's never shown the ability to use Hypnosis."

"Okay Pikachu, it's up to you," Ash said and Pikachu nodded before leaping onto the battlefield. This was the first time he'd battled since Saturn's Toxicroak nearly killed him, "Use Thunderbolt!"

"Will-O-Wisp then Psychic!" ordered Fantina. Pikachu launched Thunderbolt but it was deflected by Drifblim's Counter Shield, "Now trap Pikachu, Drifblim!" Drifblim used Psychic to lift the spinning Will-O-Wisps above its head before throwing them at Pikachu, trapping him between the flames. While Pikachu tried looking for an escape route, Drifblim darted forwards and grabbed his face like it had with Buizel.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" yelled Ash but now Pikachu's Thunderbolt was being blocked from within the Counter Shield. The X shaped Hypnosis hit Pikachu and Drifblim casually dissipated the flames as Pikachu was put to sleep, "No! Not again!"

"This is just like last time," Dawn cried.

"Pikachu, wake up!" Ash screamed desperately. Fantina smirked.

"Ominous Wind!" she called and Drifblim spun, summoning an Ominous Wind that sent the still sleeping Pikachu flying, "Now Drifblim use Will-O-Wisp!" Drifblim didn't bother forming a Counter Shield this time; it simply launched searing blue flames directly at Pikachu. Pikachu screamed in agony but the burning heat from the Will-O-Wisp was just what he needed to wake him up from the Hypnosis.

"Pikachu Thunder!" yelled Ash and Pikachu unleashed a huge blast of electricity. The attack struck Drifblim and it yelled in agony. Then Pikachu was surrounded by blue flames once more as the burning effect from Will-O-Wisp kicked in, "Hang on! Use Volt Tackle!"

"Ominous Wind!" ordered Fantina as Pikachu lunged at Drifblim, surrounding himself with electricity. Drifblim started spinning to summon Ominous Wind but sparks surrounded its body, "What?" Drifblim quickly shrugged off the paralysis from Thunder but was just a second too slow. Pikachu smashed into the Blimp Pokemon and sent it skidded along the floor and crashing into the wall. Pikachu landed and glared at the downed Drifblim before the recoil side effect of Volt Tackle kicked in.

"Drifblim is unable the battle, Pikachu wins!" cried the referee, "Therefore the challenger Ash is the victor!"

"Alright!" Ash punched the air. Pikachu did the same, then ran towards his trainer for a hug. When he jumped into Ash's arms however, both of them caught fire from the Will-O-Wisp and shrieked in agony.

"Ooh, sorry," Fantina said, wincing at their pain, "Will-O-Wisp's burning effect won't wear off just because Drifblim was defeated."

"Buizel soak them with Water Gun," Harry sent out Buizel who squirted a Water Gun on Ash and Pikachu to cool them down. They both sighed with relief and went to Fantina.

"That was a fine battle, Ash," Fantina said, "You got lucky with Pikachu's Thunder, but nonetheless you defeated me fair and square. So please take the Relic Badge."

While Ash was celebrating his victory, Harry was worried about how he would deal with Fantina, especially her Drifblim. Ash would have lost the battle if Drifblim hadn't been paralyzed by Pikachu's Thunder and Fantina's Drifblim had become an expert at using Counter Shield the first time it attempted it. Harry knew his next gym battle was going to be a difficult one.

* * *

It was Harry's turn to battle Fantina. Riolu sat in the stands with Ash, Dawn, Brock, Pikachu and Piplup. Harry had been training hard for the battle ever since Ash's victory two days earlier. Harry knew Counter Shield wouldn't be enough this time. In fact, he wasn't planning on using Counter Shield at all.

"Voila Drifblim!" cried Fantina and Harry was surprised when she sent out Drifblim as her _first_ Pokemon. He quickly ran through the strategy he'd planned to use. He'd been hoping to take out both Gengar and Mismagius first but now he was going to have to alter his battle plan slightly.

"Leafeon, take your position!" he cried and everyone was surprised when he sent out the Grass type.

"Hold on," said Dawn, "Leafeon against Drifblim?"

"Interesting," Brock muttered, "Harry's got Drifloon so he knows Drifblim's part Flying type which means he must have a plan."

"Let the match begin!" cried the referee.

"Leafeon use Shadow Ball!" ordered Harry and Leafeon formed a black orb in his mouth and fired it.

"Shadow Ball as well!" called Fantina. Drifblim created a Shadow Ball of its own and the attack blasted right through Leafeon's Shadow Ball and knocked him off his feet, "Magnifique Drifblim! Now use Will-O-Wisp!" Drifblim created searing hot flames and directed them towards Leafeon.

"Leafeon dodge and use Leaf Blade!" Harry shouted and Leafeon darted between the blue flames before leaping at Drifblim. The leaf between his ears glowed green.

"Dodge it!" called Fantina and Drifblim spun gracefully away from the leaf on Leafeon's head but wasn't prepared for the leaf that served as his tail. Leafeon's tail glowed the same colour as the leaf on his head and he turned his body in the air, using the momentum of the strike he had attempted with his head leaf, so that he struck Drifblim with his tail leaf instead. Drifblim squealed and Leafeon landed gracefully and turned to face the Blimp Pokemon, "Drifblim, use Hypnosis!"

"Drif!" Drifblim reached out for Leafeon.

"Sunny Day!" bellowed Harry and Leafeon's head leaf glowed and shot a thin beam of light above the battle field which formed into a tiny but bright sun above his head. Drifblim grabbed his face and hit him with the X shaped Hypnosis. Leafeon just smirked and Drifblim blinked in alarm, "Perfect. Shadow Ball!"

"Leafeon!" said Leafeon and blasted the unfortunate Drifblim with a Shadow Ball at point blank range, sending the Blimp Pokemon flying. Drifblim managed to recover but the attack had inflicted a Critical Hit.

"None of my Pokemon can learn Safeguard," Harry said to Fantina, "But Leaf Guard and Sunny Day is the next best thing."

"Very clever," Fantina complimented, "But in bright sunlight, fire will hurt all the more! Will-O-Wisp!" Drifblim shot multiple Will-O-Wisp's at Leafeon. This was the drawback of Leaf Guard. It could protect Leafeon from every status condition except burns due to Fire type moves increased power in sunlight.

"Leafeon dodge and use Bite!" Harry yelled and Leafeon darted between the blue flames, fearlessly closing in on Drifblim. Most Grass types would be terrified of being attacked by a Fire type move whilst Sunny Day was in effect but not Leafeon. He jumped at Drifblim and snapped his teeth shut on one of Drifblim's arms before throwing the Blimp Pokemon to the ground, "Now Leaf Blade!"

"Shadow Ball!" screamed Fantina with a hint of desperation and Drifblim fired a Shadow Ball from the ground. Leafeon slashed right through the Shadow Ball using the Leaf Blade on his head and somersaulted before slamming his glowing green tail onto the unfortunate Drifblim. Leafeon then sprang off the Blimp Pokemon and landed behind it. "Drifblim!"

"Drifbliiim," Drifblim whimpered. It didn't move. Everyone stared in shock.

"Drifblim is unable to battle, Leafeon wins!" said the referee after a moment of shocked silence.

"NOOO!" cried Fantina. Harry grimaced; she kept screaming that every time one of her Pokemon was beaten and it was a bit annoying.

"Wow!" cried Ash, "I had to use three Pokemon to beat Drifblim but Harry beat it with one Pokemon who had type disadvantage."

"No offence Ash, but Harry's WAY more skilled than you were when you were his age," Brock said.

"No doubt about that," Ash admitted as Fantina recalled Drifblim.

"You rest now Drifblim," Fantina said and then looked at Harry with an impressed expression, "Magnifique! You clearly planned carefully on how to deal with my Drifblim's Hypnosis and Leafeon's courage made it undaunted by Will-O-Wisp even in Sunny Day! But I will not give up the Relic Badge without a fight. Voila Gengar!" The Shadow Pokemon appeared and smirked at Leafeon who smirked back confidently.

"If you can beat Drifblim, Gengar should be a piece of cake, Leafeon," Harry said, "Rapid Fire Shadow Ball." Leafeon launched five Shadow Balls in quick succession.

"Dodge!" cried Fantina and Gengar jumped over the first Shadow Ball before using Levitate to dodge the remaining four in mid-air, "Sludge Bomb!" Gengar opened its mouth and fired filthy bombs which slammed into Leafeon and exploded. Leafeon hit the ground hard.

"Leafeon!" called Harry. The Verdant Pokemon winced but picked himself up. The Sunny Day wore off, "Use Leaf Blade!" Leafeon leapt at Gengar and swung at it with his head leaf.

"Dodge it Gengar!" ordered Fantina and Gengar flattened itself along the floor just like a shadow, albeit a purple shadow with a face, and slid underneath Leafeon to avoid both Leaf Blades, "Gengar is not called the Shadow Pokemon for nothing. Sludge Bomb!"

"Gengar!" Gengar said triumphantly and blasted Leafeon with another Sludge Bomb sending him crashing to the ground.

"Leafeon!" Harry cried.

"Leafeon is unable to battle, Gengar wins."

"Excellent work Leafeon," Harry said as he recalled him, "Taking out Fantina's Drifblim all by yourself was very impressive. Drapion, take your position!" The Ogre Scorp Pokemon emerged and clamped his claws together eagerly, "Use Dark Pulse!"

"Night Shade!" countered Fantina and the black beams from Gengar's eyes collided with the rings launched from Drapion's claws, creating an explosion.

"Cross Poison!" Harry ordered.

"Dodge it!" called Fantina and like with Leafeon, Gengar went into its shadow like state to slide beneath Drapion so that Cross Poison missed, "Now use Focus Blast!"

"Gengar can use Focus Blast?" Harry was caught off guard as Gengar formed a yellow orb between its hands and hurled it at Drapion. This Focus Blast was a completely different colour from Paul's Ursaring's Focus Blast. Drapion turned only to receive Focus Blast right in the face which blasted him backwards. Harry snapped out of his surprise upon hearing Drapion's roar of pain and shouted, "Hang on Drapion, Pin Missile!" Drapion fired missiles from all six of his claws.

"Dodge it!" cried Fantina and Gengar Levitated before agily avoiding each missile, "Focus Blast!"

"Drapion crush the Focus Blast!" Harry ordered and Drapion caught the yellow orb between his claws before squeezing it and crushing it into yellow sparkles.

"Hey that could work in a contest," Dawn exclaimed and Piplup nodded.

"Use Dark Pulse!" Harry ordered and Drapion fired a Dark Pulse, finally landing a blow. Gengar was blasted into the wall and fell onto its knees, "Finish it with Pin Missile!" Drapion fired more missiles and all of them hit Gengar creating an explosion. When the smoke cleared Gengar was clearly unconscious.

"Gengar's unable to battle, Drapion wins!"

"NOOO!" Fantina cried, then smiled as she recalled Gengar, "Have a rest Gengar. Well done. Voila Mismagius!" The Magical Pokemon appeared.

"Drapion Dark Pulse!" ordered Harry and Drapion obeyed firing the black rings at Mismagius.

"Dodge it and use Power Gem!" ordered Fantina and Mismagius floated out of the way of Dark Pulse and its red neckless glowed before it formed a large red orb in front of it. Harry was slightly surprised by the Power Gem's colour as Vespiquen's variant of the attack was yellow. The red Power Gem exploded when it hit Drapion and he hit the ground hard.

"Drapion, are you okay?" Drapion grunted and picked himself back up, "Use Pin Missile!"

"Magical Leaf!" ordered Fantina and Mismagius fired six glowing green leaves from its body to block the six missiles Drapion had fired. Despite Pin Missile being a Bug type move, the Magical Leaf was sufficient to protect Mismagius although the Pin Missile destroyed it at the same time, "Power Gem!" Mismagius formed another orb the same colour as its neckless and blasted Drapion with it. This time Drapion didn't get up.

"Drapion is unable to battle, Mismagius wins!"

"Well done Drapion have a break," Harry said then smirked at Fantina, "You may be an expert on Ghost types, Fantina. But I wonder if you're familiar with this one. Spiritomb, take your position!" Spiritomb emerged from his Poke Ball.

"Oh my!" cried Fantina, "A Spiritomb! That is a very rare Pokemon, almost Legendary!"

"Spiritomb's also one of my strongest battlers," Harry said, "Your Mismagius won't have an easy time with him." Spiritomb chuckled wickedly.

"Well the stronger the opponent, the harder we fight!" cried Fantina, "Use Shadow Ball!" Mismagius formed and fired a Shadow Ball at Spiritomb.

"You too Spiritomb!" Harry called and Spiritomb's own Shadow Ball collided with Mismagius' creating an explosion.

"Magical Leaf!" called Fantina and Mismagius sent glowing green leaves flying at Spiritomb. The Forbidden Pokemon spasmed slightly but the attack didn't do much damage.

"Spiritomb use Dark Pulse!" Harry ordered.

"Dodge it and then Power Gem!" cried Fantina. Mismagius dodged the black rings and blasted Spiritomb with Power Gem knocking him backwards.

"Spiritomb, Silver Wind!" Harry called and Spiritomb summoned a swirling Silver Wind which struck Mismagius. The pure Ghost type just floated there, smiling slightly as if the Silver Wind was just a light breeze.

"Shadow Ball!" cried Fantina and Mismagius blasted Spiritomb with a black orb of energy, "Now use Power Gem and finish it!" Mismagius created its largest Power Gem yet and fired it at Spiritomb.

"Into your keystone!" ordered Harry and Spiritomb withdrew into the stone. There was an explosion when the Power Gem hit. When the smoke cleared the keystone was unmarked. Spiritomb emerged from it and chuckled, having taken no damage from the Power Gem at all, "Rapid Fire Shadow Ball!"

"Tomb, tomb, tomb, tomb, tomb!" said Spiritomb very quickly, forming and firing a Shadow Ball each time he said it. All five of the Shadow Balls smashed into the unfortunate Mismagius. Harry knew the battle was over before the smoke even cleared but let the referee confirm it anyway.

"Mismagius is unable to battle, Spiritomb wins!" the referee announced, "That means Harry Rowan is the victor!"

"NOOO!" squealed Fantina for the third time. Harry ignored her as Spiritomb floated towards him.

"Excellent Spiritomb," said Harry, "And you don't even seem upset about your keystone or Poke Ball anymore."

"Spiritomb," Spiritomb smiled warmly. After the Wallace Cup, he'd actually grown to appreciate his keystone for the protection it provided and Poke Balls no longer seemed like a prison to him either, although he still preferred to remain outside them. He bumped his keystone into his trainer's chest affectionately.

"Spiritomb is very different from the Pokemon that had a grudge against all Pikachu not so long ago," Brock said.

"Harry's a good influence on him," Dawn agreed.

"Harry, I am impressed," said Fantina, "Spiritomb is a Pokemon that is feared by most but you clearly have a bond with yours. And the way you used Leafeon to defeat my Drifblim despite its type disadvantage was magnifique. You have definitely earned the Relic Badge." She held it out to him.

"Thanks Fantina," Harry took the badge. His friends came down from the stands to join him. Harry put the badge away in his badge case.

"Aren't you going to cheer or punch the air or something?" asked Ash.

"Not my style," Harry said, "It makes me feel stupid. That doesn't mean I'm not happy though." He patted Spiritomb's keystone and the Forbidden Pokemon smiled.

"Well I guess we should be going," Brock said.

"Yeah," Harry agreed.

"You know," said Fantina, "There is a blimp that is headed for Canalave City. You and Ash could both earn your next badge in the gym there."

"Okay," Harry said, "Bye Fantina."

"See you," Ash said and the group waved as they left the gym, "Next stop Canalave City!"

 **In this story, Will-O-Wisp is basically Inferno as it causes direct damage like in the anime, but always leaves a burn like in the games. Therefore it can be used more than once on the same Pokémon.**


	37. Crisis on Iron Island

The blimp ride to Canalave City took most of the next day. Harry and Ash even let out Vespiquen, Drifloon, Staravia and Spiritomb to float alongside them. From time to time Vespiquen, Staravia and Spiritomb had to stop Drifloon from getting blown away by the wind but Drifloon was getting better at riding the wind instead of fighting against it.

Eventually they landed in Canalave City and got out of the blimp. The Flying and Levitating Pokemon floated down to join them.

"It think that's enough exercise for today," Harry said and recalled Drifloon and Vespiquen while Ash recalled Staravia, "Spiritomb do you want to go in your Poke Ball?" Unlike the Flying types, Levitating alongside the blimp didn't count as exercise to Spiritomb. The Forbidden Pokemon shook his head.

"So who's challenging the Canalave Gym first?" Ash asked.

"I'll go first this time," Harry said. Ash nodded. The group headed towards the gym. When they arrived however they discovered that it was closed. "Not this gym too!"

"Don't worry," said a voice behind them and they turned to see Barry, whom only Harry was really familiar with, behind them. Barry sweat dropped when he saw Spiritomb. Both Harry and Spiritomb rolled their eyes in exhasperation.

"Hi Barry," Harry said, "Haven't seen you since the Tag Battle Tournament. How are you?"

"I'm fine. I've now got five badges," Barry bragged, "The Gym Leader Byron just went to Iron Island for a couple of days after I beat him!"

"Five badges huh?" Harry smirked, "Well once Ash and I beat Byron we'll have six."

"What is that Pokemon anyway?" asked Barry pointing to Spiritomb.

"This is my Spiritomb," Harry said, "Trust me he's not as scary as he looks." Spiritomb smiled warmly and Barry sweat dropped again at the evil looking expression but didn't comment. Instead he looked at Ash, Dawn and Brock.

"Hey you guys were at the Tag Battle Competition too," Barry said before nudging Harry teasingly, "Your partner's pretty cute." Harry blushed. It wasn't that he didn't agree with Barry but he wasn't interested in that sort of thing right now.

"Uh, that's very flattering," Dawn blushed.

"We're friends," Harry said, "We just got lucky to be partnered with each other back then." Barry smirked but didn't say anything else.

"What are your names again?" asked Barry, "I don't remember."

"I'm Ash, that's Brock and this is Dawn," Ash introduced all three of them and Barry nodded as he remembered hearing their names during the Tag Battle Tournament.

"So I guess you'll be leaving now that you've got the Gym Badge," Harry said.

"Yeah, but I'm gonna go to Iron Island to do some training," Barry said.

"Well you know since the Gym Leader's on Iron Island anyway, why don't we go too?" said Brock.

"Sure," Harry shrugged, "No point in staying here if the Gym's closed."

"Well the ferry will be leaving in an hour," Barry informed them, "so how about you and I have a battle before we go Harry?"

"Okay," Harry shrugged, "One on one?"

"Got it," said Barry, "Go Empoleon!" A large penguin like creature with a beak that was connected to three trident shaped crest on its head appeared.

"So your Prinplup's evolved," Harry said. Dawn took out her pokedex.

" _Empoleon the Emperor Pokemon and the final form of Piplup._ _It swims as fast as a jet boat and uses its metal wings to destroy any drifting ice that gets in its way_."

"Okay I'll go with Riolu then," Harry said and Riolu stepped towards the larger Pokemon. Ash, Dawn, Brock, Pikachu, Piplup and Spiritomb all moved back to give the two rivals and their Pokemon some space, "Riolu Aura Sphere!" Riolu hurled Aura Sphere at Empoleon and the attack knocked the Emperor Pokemon off its feet.

"Your Riolu knows Aura Sphere!" Barry gaped at the Emanation Pokemon, then snapped out of it, "Empoleon use Hydro Pump!" Empoleon fired a stream of water from its beak at Riolu.

"Dodge it and use Brick Break!" Harry called and Riolu jumped over the Hydro Pump and brought his hand down towards its head.

"Metal Claw!" cried Barry and Empoleon's wings glowed before it crossed them and blocked the Brick Break. It then shoved Riolu backwards, "Now Hydro Pump!" Empoleon fired a Hydro Pump and this time sent Riolu sprawling, "Good job Empoleon. Now use Hydro Cannon!" Empoleon opened its beak and a cannon ball made purely out of water appeared inside it.

"Dodge it!" cried Harry and Riolu rolled swiftly out of the way, dodging the Hydro Cannon which was a bit smaller than it should have been. Barry looked critically at Empoleon.

"Your Hydro Cannon still needs more power, Empoleon," he said and Empoleon nodded.

"Riolu Force Palm!" Harry ordered and Riolu darted forwards and slammed a Force Palm into Empoleon stomach before blasting it away with a burst of yellow energy, "Good, now use Aura Sphere!" Riolu formed another Aura Sphere and hurled it at Empoleon.

"Dodge it!" cried Barry and Empoleon tried but the Aura Sphere had locked onto its Aura and turned in mid-air before slamming into Empoleon from behind, "Empoleon no!"

"Empoleon is unable to battle Riolu wins," announced Brock, "That makes Harry the winner!"

"There are various ways to stop Aura Sphere," Harry informed Barry, "Using Protect or causing another attack to collide with it for example. Once it makes contact it's even possible to knock it away before it can actually do damage. But the one thing you can't do is dodge it because it locks onto a Pokemon's Aura until it touches them."

"I'll keep that in mind," Barry muttered as he recalled Empoleon.

* * *

An hour later the group took a ferry to Iron Island in search of the Gym Leader Byron. Upon arrival they found that a Pokemon Center had been built on the island. Nurse Joy had seen them coming.

"Wow Nurse Joy's here to greet us in person!" yelled Brock with hearts in his eyes. Naturally he was the first one off the boat, "My darling Nurse Joy it warms my heart to see you upon this desolate waste…" Croagunk Poison Jabbed him, "Land." Brock collapsed and Croagunk dragged him away.

"That was weird," said Barry.

"Brock always does that," Dawn said looking slightly embarrassed.

"I'm sorry but you shouldn't have come," said Nurse Joy, "There's a problem with all the Steel types."

"What kind of problem?" Ash asked.

"Come and see," Nurse Joy led them into the Pokemon Center. Inside were several Steel types in glass cases. Every one of them looked like it was in pain.

"Wait, does that mean it's dangerous for Empoleon to be here?" asked Barry. Joy glanced at him.

"Well I don't know what's wrong with them," she said, "Even the Gym Leader Byron doesn't know what's happening. He's gone off to try and find the source of the disturbance."

"Hey Byron specializes in Steel types!" cried Barry, "Doesn't that mean all his Pokemon are here?"

"Well it seems that Pokemon don't get affected as long as they're inside their Poke Balls," Joy said, "All of these Pokemon are wild. Byron took his Kabutops with him since it's not a Steel type. Your Empoleon should be fine as long as you don't let it out of its Poke Ball."

"Aw man!" groaned Barry, "I still need Empoleon to master Hydro Cannon."

"How about we go and find this whatever's causing this?" Ash suggested, "Apart from Barry, none of us have a Steel type Pokemon."

"If you do you'll have to be careful," Joy cautioned, "The Steel type Pokemon are not only in pain but also very aggressive. The only one that's not been bothered by the disturbance is Riley's Lucario."

"Who's Riley?" asked Harry. Riolu looked interested at the mention of his evolved form.

"An Aura Guardian who lives and trains on the island," Joy explained, "He went with Byron to find out what's going on."

"Well I guess we should go too," Harry muttered.

"I'll stay here and see if I can help Nurse Joy with the Steel Pokemon," Brock said.

"You'll stay here so you can keep getting yourself Poison Jabbed you mean," Harry muttered, "Sometimes I think you're masochistic."

"What does that mean?" asked Barry.

"He knows Croagunk will Poison Jab him whenever he starts hitting on a woman but he does it anyway," Harry said, "It's almost like he enjoys it."

"I'm more worried about the Steel types right now," Brock said stiffly, "Go and find Riley and Byron."

"Come on then," Ash said and the group, except Brock and Nurse Joy, left the Pokemon Center.

At first there didn't seem to be anything wrong but then a Magneton came floating towards them with its eyes shut in pain. It suddenly started randomly firing Discharge around the area and was soon accompanied by two Skarmory and a Metang. The group had to duck behind a rock to avoid the Discharges, Flash Cannons and Air Slashes.

"What do we do?" cried Dawn covering Piplup's head protectively.

"Riolu can you sense what's got them so riled up?" Harry asked. Riolu reached out with Aura but all he could feel was pain and anger around him. A Steelix suddenly burst out of the ground behind them and lunged at the group with its huge jaws wide open. They scattered and the Steelix Crunched the rock they'd been sheltering behind and crushed it with its powerful jaws. It then turned towards Harry and Riolu and lunged again, "Aura Sphere!"

"Riolu!" Riolu cried and quickly blasted Steelix in the face with Aura Sphere causing it to rear back in pain. Suddenly the Metang smashed into Riolu with Take Down and then turned to Harry and swiped at him with Metal Claw. Harry ducked and Spiritomb quickly came to his rescue, blasting Metang away from him with Dark Pulse.

"Thank's Spiritomb," Harry said and hurried over to Riolu, "Riolu are you okay?" Riolu groaned as he picked himself up. Harry glanced around quickly, searching for his friends.

Barry had sent out his Heracross who was currently in the process of pounding an Aggron with Close Combat. Ash's Pikachu shocked one of the Skarmory out of the sky and Dawn's Piplup tried to fend off the other with Bubblebeam but the Skarmory kept dodging with Agility and then smashed into Piplup with Steel Wing.

"Piplup!" screamed Dawn and Skarmory lunged at her this time, its wings glowing white as it tried to hit her with another Steel Wing.

"Kabutops use Aqua Jet!" bellowed a voice and a Pokemon with lethal scythes on the end of its arms rocketed down from a rocky hill surrounded by Water. The Aqua Jet knocked Skarmory away from Dawn just in time.

"Lucario, Aura Sphere!" cried another voice and an orb of blue energy, stronger than Riolu's, smashed into the Skarmory and knocked it out. Now the only Steel types left conscious were the Magneton and Steelix, the latter of which lunged at the newcomers and their Pokemon, "Quick do it again Lucario!" Lucario blasted the Steelix with its stronger Aura Sphere and knocked it out.

"Riolu, Aura Sphere on Magneton!" Harry called and Riolu blasted the Magneton with Aura Sphere. All the attacking Steel types had been defeated now.

"Byron!" cried Barry, recognising one of the men, a middle aged guy with purplish hair and an unshaven face. Byron's companion was much younger, a handsome man with spiky black hair covered by a blue hat.

"Barry!" boomed Byron, "Wasn't expecting to see you here kid. These your friends?"

"Yeah. Well sorta. This is Ash, Dawn and Harry," Barry said pointing out each of them in turn.

"Sorta?" said Dawn looking annoyed.

"Hey the only one of you I've had any proper interaction with is Harry," Barry said reasonably.

"We had interaction back in Twinleaf Town," Dawn said grumpily.

"Yeah but I don't remember that," Barry replied.

"Is everyone alright?" asked the young man accompanying Byron.

"Yeah," Ash said, "I guess you're Riley. Nurse Joy mentioned you."

"Yeah I'm Riley," he said nodding, "I'm training to be an Aura Guardian with Lucario." He gestured to the one Steel type who wasn't out of its mind and Lucario nodded.

"I'm Byron," said the Gym Leader, "I was here training but then my Bastiodon, Steelix and Bronzor went mad so I left them at the Pokemon Center. Fortunately Kabutops isn't being affected." Kabutops nodded. Harry took out his pokedex.

" _Kabutops the Shellfish Pokemon and the evolved form of Kabuto. It became extinct long ago but was revived with modern technology. An excellent swimmer, it slashes prey with its claws before draining their fluids_."

"Riley how come Lucario's not being affected by whatever's going on here?" asked Ash.

"He's using Aura to block the waves out," Riley explained, "We're still not sure where the waves are coming from though." Lucario meanwhile was shaking hands with Riolu.

"Hypothetically if Riolu evolved right now, could he could block out these waves?" asked Harry.

"Depends how strong his Aura is," Riley replied with a shrug.

"Well he'd already mastered Aura Sphere," Harry said.

"In that case he probably could," Riley said, "If he wanted to evolve that is."

"I was just wondering," Harry said. Riolu looked at him with a slightly annoyed expression, "Sorry Riolu. I know you're not ready to evolve right now." Riolu's expression faded and he nodded to show he accepted the apology.

"Okay now that the greetings are out of the way, we need to find out what the hell's going on here!" said Byron. The others nodded and followed the Gym Leader and his Kabutops.

"Spiritomb," Harry said, "You go on ahead and have a look around." Spiritomb nodded and Harry let out Vespiquen and Drifloon, "You girls go too and all of you stick together." They nodded and flew over the island, scouting the area.

About five minutes later the three scouting Pokemon returned.

"Vespi!" cried Vespiquen gesturing to the west with her arm. Lucario turned to where Vespiquen was pointing and closed his eyes. He could sense a lot of Aura's coming from that direction.

"Found them," Riley said, "Let's go!"

"Good job guys!" Harry called, "Lucario's locked onto the location so return!" He recalled Vespiquen and Drifloon and pointed a Poke Ball at Spiritomb but the Forbidden Pokemon shook his head. He wanted to witness this outside his Poke Ball. Harry nodded in acknowledgement and put away the Poke Ball. Byron recalled his Kabutops and the group followed Lucario.

"Brooon!" cried a Bronzor and a moment later a stream of flames shot out from over the edge of a rocky slope. Harry caught the Bronzor as the Flamethrower subsided. Bronzor instantly used Gyro Ball on him to knock him away and then lunged back into the pit.

"Golbat use Shadow Ball!" cried a familiar voice and the Bronzor came flying over the edge of the slope again this time unconscious. Harry had recovered from the Gyro Ball, which had been used simply to make him let go rather than actually hurt him and picked up the poor Pokemon.

"What's that?" said Dawn as they looked over the edge. Harry, still carrying the Bronzor, joined the others. Below them was a large ruins which was made out of metal. There was also a large pillar with strange markings and even two statues, one of Dialga and the other of Palkia.

Then a Skarmory was shot out of the sky by a Flamethrower from a Skuntank down in the ruins.

"Team Galactic!" Ash snarled as the Skarmory fell to the ground. Working around the ruins and statues of the two Legendary Pokemon were a group of Team Galactic grunts. Jupiter and her Skuntank were also visible.

"You know them?" asked Riley.

"Yeah," Harry muttered angrily, "Riolu was badly hurt by that Skuntank once." Riolu nodded and glared down at Skuntank. Bronzor shifted slightly in Harry's arms but seemed too weak to do anything. Heatproof gave it some resistance to Skuntank's Flamethrower but the attack had still hurt and the Shadow Ball from the Golbat had been too much for it.

"The Steel types all seem to be focussing their attention on this area," Byron said thoughtfully, "This must be the source of the disturbance."

"Well all the Steel types except Lucario are on a rampage all around the island," Barry pointed out.

"Yes but Team Galactic seem to be trying to stop them from getting something down there," Riley said. Now that they looked properly it did seem that the Steel types weren't just being senselessly violent. They were attacking with a purpose. "The Pokemon must know the disturbance is coming from here so they're trying to destroy whatever's causing it."

Below them, Skuntank was using Flamethrower to fend off any Steel type Pokemon that came towards Team Galactic. Most of the Bronzor powered through Flamethrower thanks to Heatproof but were instead knocked away by Shadow Balls from the numerous Golbat in the area. Only one Pokemon, a Bronzong, lasted more than a few seconds, powering through several Golbat with Gyro Ball and knocking aside Jupiter's Skuntank as it headed for a strange machine between the statues of Dialga and Palkia. The machine had a large golden device in it somewhat resembling a giant key.

"That's what they're aiming for!" Riley said pointing to the machine with the huge key in it.

"Stop that Bronzong!" yelled Jupiter. At that moment a familiar red haired woman appeared and threw a Poke Ball.

"Purugly use Fake Out!" cried Mars and the fat cat burst out of its Poke Ball and clapped its paws together sending a shock wave towards Bronzong. Of course the attack barely did any damage but it did cause Bronzong to flinch and stop its Gyro Ball, "Shadow Ball!"

"Skuntank Flamethrower!" called Jupiter and Skuntank, having recovered from the Gyro Ball, blasting Bronzong with a stream of flames from its mouth while Purugly shot a Shadow Ball from its own mouth. Both attacks hit the Bronzong at the same time and the Bronze Bell Pokemon collapsed.

"Is the machine ready yet?" Mars barked at her grunts.

"It is… now," said one of them making the final adjustment on a control panel.

"About time," muttered Jupiter and turned to the key. She removed it from the machine and carried it to the pillar with the strange markings. One of the markings was exactly the same shape as the key. The key levitated out of Jupiter's hands and floated to the pillar before slotting itself neatly between the markings carved into it. The pillar glowed bright blue and so did the statues of Dialga and Palkia.

"Here we go," Mars said eagerly. She patted her Purugly's head absentmindedly as a massive beam of light shot out of the pillar into the sky. The group on the edge of the cliff all covered their eyes from the blinding blue light. Bronzor suddenly woke up and cried out with pain before knocking Harry off his feet with Gyro Ball.

"Bronzor!" cried Harry as the Pokemon continued spinning on the spot as if it could somehow blow away the sound waves with the force of its spin. Even Lucario was being affected now. He clutched his head in his hands.

"Rio?" Riolu looked up at his evolved form in concern. When Lucario looked at him, his eyes were blue, the same colour as the light from the pillar. Lucario suddenly created a Bone Rush and slammed the bone into Riolu, knocking him straight into a rock.

"Riolu!" cried Harry and rushed to the Emanation Pokemon. Riolu was dazed but otherwise alright. However the fact that Lucario had attacked him showed how serious the situation had become.

"Lucario not you too!" gasped Riley. Lucario fired an Aura Sphere at the group. Riley jumped between Lucario and the trainers and a blue glow surrounded his body. A blue sphere of light surrounded the group and there was a massive explosion as the attack struck the barrier. Riley's barrier held.

"How did you…?" Dawn gasped.

"Aura," Riley replied simply. Suddenly Barry's Poke Ball opened and Empoleon burst out.

"Empoleon!" Barry cried. Empoleon glared at him. Even being inside the Poke Ball wasn't enough to protect it from the waves anymore. They were lucky that Byron's Steel type Pokemon were in the Pokemon Center. Bronzor joined the other two Steel types. "Empoleon it's me! Remember we came here to do some training together?"

"Poleon!" cried Empoleon and created a Hydro Cannon in its beak. This one looked much stronger than the one it used whilst battling Riolu. Hydro Cannon blasted the whole group off the cliff. It was a long fall and unfortunately the explosion caught Jupiter and Mars' attention.

"Oh not them again!" said Mars in annoyance while the group groaned and rubbed their bruised backsides. Harry had never suffered a long fall before and had gained a new appreciation for human resilience in the Pokemon world. The group picked themselves up and found Team Galactic in front of them in addition to their crazed Pokemon, as well as the Bronzor, behind them. Then Mars shrieked as Spiritomb floated down and chuckled at Team Galactic, "What the hell is that thing?"

"Typical," Harry muttered, "Why is everyone afraid of my Spiritomb?"

"Maybe because it looks creepy," said Barry, "And it has an evil smile and an evil laugh!"

"Spiritomb can't help that," Harry said.

"We need to destroy the machine," Byron boomed.

"You go," Riley ordered, "Ash and I will hold off Lucario and Empoleon."

"Right," Ash said as Lucario and Empoleon reached the bottom of the slope, having slid all the way down, "Pikachu go!" Pikachu jumped forwards.

"Gallade let's go!" Riley let out a Pokemon that resembled a gladiator with sharp blades on its arms. Ash took out his pokedex.

" _Gallade the Blade Pokemon and one of the evolved forms of Kirlia. A very protective Pokemon, Gallade fights feircely using the swords on its arms._ "

"Use Psycho Cut!" Riley ordered and Gallade's blades glowed blue before he shot two blades of Psychic energy at Lucario. The Aura Pokemon formed a Bone Rush and spun it in order to block both blades before lunging at Gallade, ready for a counterstrike, "Counter with Fury Cutter!"

"Gallade!" said Gallade and held up his bladed arms as they glowed red. Lucario and Gallade started duelling using Bone Rush and Fury Cutter respectively. Gallade's Fury Cutter steadily gained more power and his movements were precise and elegant while Lucario was in such a blind rage that his attacks were rather sloppy in comparison.

"Pikachu Thunderbolt!" ordered Ash and Pikachu fired a Thunderbolt at Empoleon but the Emperor Pokemon blasted the Thunderbolt with a Flash Cannon fired from its beak, creating an explosion. Empoleon then shot through the smoke whilst spinning and its beak and crest glowed white before it slammed into Pikachu with Drill Peck. Fortunately Pikachu was resistant to Flying type moves so he quickly recovered and the two Pokemon continued fighting.

Meanwhile Harry, Dawn, Barry and Byron were charging at Team Galactic. Barry had released his Heracross while Dawn used Piplup. Both Riolu and Spiritomb were with Harry and Byron was using Kabutops. The Bronzor from earlier was fighting a group of Golbat above them.

"Spiritomb help Bronzor," Harry ordered and Spiritomb broke off from the group and floated up to help the outnumbered Bronzor against the numerous Golbat.

"Skuntank use Flamethrower!" ordered Jupiter and Skuntank fired a stream of flames at the group.

"Kabutops Aqua Jet!" boomed Byron and Kabutops charged straight through the Flamethrower whilst surrounded by water and knocked Skuntank aside.

"Riolu Aura Sphere!" ordered Harry and Riolu blasted Purugly out of the way with an orb of Aura, "Now destroy that machine!" Riolu aimed another Aura Sphere at the machine but a Golbat got in the way and shrugged off the Fighting type move before shooting an Air Cutter at Riolu, "Riolu dodge with Quick Attack and get closer!" Riolu shot between the Air Cutter, avoiding every blade of wind.

"Stop that Riolu!" yelled Jupiter and Skuntank leapt at the Emanation Pokemon only to pull back with a terrified expression when Kabutops swiped at her with its lethal claws.

"Piplup!" squealed Piplup as Purugly used Body Slam on him.

"Heracross use Megahorn on Purugly!" ordered Barry and Heracross' powerful horn glowed white and he thrust it into Purugly knocking it off Piplup. Then Heracross was struck by an Air Slash from one of the Golbat, so Barry recalled it.

"Piplup Whirlpool!" cried Dawn and Piplup summoned a Whirlpool which caught several Golbat inside it sending them spinning around helplessly. Harry took a quick glance up at Spiritomb. Bronzor had stopped attacking the Golbat and was now attacking Spiritomb instead, unable to recognize friend from foe.

"Riolu blow that thing up with Aura Sphere!" ordered Harry and Riolu, who was now just a few metres away from the machine, took a running leap, bouncing off one of the Golbat in mid-air before forming an Aura Sphere. Now there was nothing between him and the machine. Riolu hurled the Aura Sphere straight into the place where the huge golden key had been.

"No!" screamed Mars as the Aura Sphere blasted the machine apart. Riolu landed with a smug smirk.

Back near the cliff, Gallade's Fury Cutter has built up enough power to destroy Lucario's Bone Rush so the two Fighting types were instead attacking each other with Close Combat. Pikachu had just hit Empoleon with a powerful Volt Tackle. The Emperor Pokemon got up and was about to attack again but the sound waves that had affected all the Steel types had stopped when Riolu destroyed the machine. Lucario stopped fighting Gallade and glanced around as he also regained his senses.

"Lucario are you okay?" asked Riley. Lucario looked at him, then at Gallade and nodded. Riley and Gallade smiled in relief, "Thank goodness. Well done Gallade, you take a rest." Riley recalled Gallade.

"Pika Pi?" Pikachu said to Empoleon who nodded, now back to its usual self. Ash smiled in relief.

Meanwhile the pillar that Mars had slotted the key into tumbled down. The key itself burst out of it and Mars caught it with a relieved expression on her face.

"We still have the Spear Key," she told Jupiter.

"Good," Jupiter replied, "Then let's get going."

"Commanders," said a grunt, "We only managed to get sixty percent of the scan completed."

"No matter," Jupiter said, "We'll find Spear Pillar eventually. It just might take a bit longer than we expected." She, Mars and the grunts ran towards a helicopter.

"Stop right there you crooks!" boomed Byron as he and the others caught up with them. Kabutops lunged forwards but Jupiter spun around and held up a remote with a red button on it.

"Stop right there!" Jupiter yelled, "Or we'll all be blown to smithereens!"

"You'd blow yourself up?" Harry said, "You're mad!"

"I'd rather be dead than fail our leader," Jupiter said coldly, "Besides we're going to destroy the whole world eventually anyway."

"You're a freaking lunatic!" Harry said. Jupiter looked annoyed.

"Shut up!" she screamed but only made herself look more like a maniac by yelling that, "Now we're going!" The helicopter doors shut and it took off.

"Lucario," Riley said, "We need to find those bombs." Lucario nodded and quickly scanned the area with Aura. He grunted and looked at his trainer, "Right, let's go! The rest of you get off the island!" Riley and Lucario ran towards the Iron Ruins. Everyone went in the opposite direction except Riolu.

"Riolu what are you doing?" Harry said. Riolu hesitated. He wanted to help Riley and Lucario, "Riolu we're not Aura Guardians and Riley told us to leave." Riolu hesitated then hurried towards the ruins, "Riolu no!" Harry ran after him. Spiritomb followed.

"Harry!" cried Dawn.

"We need to go!" cried Byron. Ash grabbed Dawn's arm and pulled her away.

Harry and Spiritomb found Riolu with Riley and Lucario in an underground chamber filled with pillars. Upon each pillar was a bomb.

"What are you doing?" cried Riley.

"Riolu wanted to help," Harry said.

"There's a good chance we'll die," Riley said, "We've only got one chance to contain the explosion."

"Riolu, Lu, Rio, Lu!" Riolu said determinedly. Harry took out his Poke Ball and recalled him but Riolu just broke his way out again. The stubborn little creature was just refusing to leave. For a split second Harry considered running and was instantly ashamed of himself. Riolu had always stuck by him when he was doing something stupid so it was time for him to return the favour.

"Lucar!" cried Lucario and Riley realized that there was no time to argue. He and Lucario turned to the bombs. They focussed their Aura. Riolu stepped beside Lucario and did the same. Harry watched, wishing he could do something to help. Without knowing why he reached out towards the bombs and closed his eyes.

Then the bombs exploded.

Harry still had his eyes closed but when he realized he was still alive he opened them and saw that Riley, Lucario and Riolu had all contained the explosion within a massive sphere of Aura. Harry wasn't just seeing the sphere however. He was also _feeling_ it.

Harry glanced at Riolu who was sweating and gritting his teeth. He thought of Riolu as his best friend but this was something different. It was as if Harry could actually feel Riolu's thoughts and feelings almost as though they were his own. He doubted Ash and Pikachu had ever experienced this kind of connection and they were practically family.

Riolu caught his trainer's eye. Despite the immense peril, he smiled. Harry had stayed with him even though there was a very good chance he'd get blown up. Riley, Riolu and Lucario all grunted with effort. Harry could only silently encourage Riolu but apparently that was all the Emanation Pokemon needed. Together the trio of Aura users aimed their hands towards the ceiling and the massive Aura barrier shot upwards, smashing through the ceiling. The explosion was still raging within the barrier, struggling to break free but the Aura practitioners kept it going until it was high above the island. Finally they released it.

The explosion was massive but it was taking place miles above the island. They were all safe.

"Thank Arceus," Harry said with relief then glared at Riolu, "That was stupid and reckless Riolu!" His expression softened as he sighed, "But I suppose it's partially my fault. I was reckless enough to get involved with Team Galactic in the first place and I guess that recklessness rubbed off on you. But please don't make this kind of thing a habit. You're supposed to stop _me_ from doing stupid things remember?" Riolu nodded and smiled cautiously. "Come here." The two of them hugged. Spiritomb floated down next to them and both Harry and Riolu patted his keystone.

"Harry," said Riley quietly, "Your presence helped Riolu. I could feel it," he paused, "You have Aura."

"Really?" Harry said startled.

"It seems so," Riley said, "I'm not sure how strong your Aura is but I could feel the connection between you and Riolu."

"So does that mean I could be an Aura Guardian?" Harry asked. He wasn't sure if he was excited or scared by that possibility. After all if he was an Aura Guardian he might have to get involved in containing explosions on a regular basis.

"Potentially," Riley said, "Ash has that potential too. When I was using Aura to block Lucario's Aura Sphere, I sensed it."

"Well I don't think I want to be an Aura Guardian," Harry said, "Seems too dangerous." Riley nodded.

"Fair enough," he said, "But if you ever change your mind, contact me. Now let's go back to the others."

* * *

Riley and Barry were both going to stay on Iron Island for the time being. Riley had given Harry and Ash his phone number in case they ever wanted to study Aura with him. Byron had decided to return to Canalave City along with Harry, Dawn, Brock and Ash. They waved goodbye to Riley and Barry as the boat sailed back towards the city.

"Bron!" called a voice and Harry glanced back and saw a Bronzor floating towards them. He was certain it was the same one that had been with the group when Lucario and Empoleon went mad.

"Hello Bronzor," Harry said, surprised. Bronzor floated around him then stopped in front of his face.

"Well," said Byron, "Looks like Bronzor has taken a liking to you." Harry wondered if Bronzor remembered that he had caught it and carried it after it was hurt by Skuntank's Flamethrower and Golbat's Shadow Ball. It was crazy at the time but it seemed to have some memory of the events.

"You wanna come with me?" Harry asked. Bronzor bobbed up and down and Harry took the gesture as a yes. He took out a Poke Ball and Bronzor willingly went inside it. Harry looked at the Poke Ball, then at Spiritomb, "Do you mind returning to grandfather's lab for a while?" Spiritomb smiled.

When they disembarked the ship they were surprised to find a familiar young man waiting for them in the harbor.

"Roark?" said Ash.

"Oh hello Ash," Roark said then looked at Harry, "Harry, I see you and Ash know each other. Dawn, Brock hi." He then looked at Byron. There was a short silence.

"Hello son," said Byron.

"Hello dad," Roark replied.


	38. Father and Son

Harry and his friends were in the Pokemon Center. It was midnight but despite the exhausting day, Harry, Ash, Dawn and Brock were discussing Aura.

"So you have an Aura connection with Riolu?" asked Ash.

"Apparently," Harry said, "I mean Riolu and I are close but this was… a whole new level of close. It was like… we were almost the same being. Is that how you'd describe it Riolu?" he looked as Riolu who shrugged. It was hard to put that kind of connection into words. Harry turned back to Ash, "Riley said you can use Aura too. He felt it when he was protecting us from Lucario's Aura Sphere."

"Yeah," Ash confirmed, "I once used it to help another Lucario save the Tree of Beginning in the Kanto region." His expression saddened, "He died so that I wouldn't sacrifice myself to the tree."

"Riolu was willing to risk his life to help Riley and Lucario," Harry muttered, "I thought I was the reckless one but I'm not crazy enough to run _towards_ a bunch of exploding bombs."

"No but you are crazy enough to try and take on Team Galactic without backup," Dawn said.

"I _did_ have backup," Harry told her, "My Pokemon were with me."

"Riolu Lu," Riolu said and patted his chest reproachfully. Harry grimaced.

"I know Riolu," he said, "Can't you just let that go? Especially since you did something similar today." Riolu winced as he realized how hypocritical he was being. The trouble was it seemed Harry's own sense of justice had rubbed off on the Emanation Pokemon and along with that he had gained a bit of his trainer's recklessness too. "Have you ever considered becoming an Aura Guardian?" Harry asked Ash.

"Not really," Ash admitted, "I'm more interested in being a Pokemon Master to tell you the truth."

"So am I," Harry said, "But it was nice of Riley to let us stay in contact with him in case we change our minds."

* * *

The next day they went to the Canalave Gym and were met by a very muscular man who towered above all of them, even Brock.

"Hello," Harry said, "I'm here to challenge Byron. Ash is a challenger too but we agreed I'd go first."

"Sorry but Byron and his son are having a little… family drama at the moment," said the muscle man.

"We're friends of Roark," Ash said, "Maybe we can help."

"Unlikely," the man said but let them in anyway. They heard Roark and Byron yelling at each other from the battling room.

"I love fossils the most!" Roark yelled as the group entered the room.

"No way!" boomed Byron, "I've been digging up fossils longer than you've been alive!"

"Excuse me?" Harry said but they didn't seem to hear him at first. After waiting for two whole minutes, Harry lost patience and pulled out a Poke Ball, "Bronzor use Metal Sound!" His newest Pokemon appeared and sent powerful sound waves through the gym. Byron and Roark both stopped arguing and noticed the group for the first time.

"Oh, hey there," Roark said.

"I'm here for a battle with Byron," Harry said.

"Sorry," Roark said, "But I'm in the middle of a family matter here."

"You're just yelling at each other about fossils," Harry said, "No offence but that's a petty thing to be arguing about."

"Petty!" boomed Byron, "Without fossils I wouldn't have Bastiodon and Kabutops!"

"And I wouldn't have Rampardos and Omastar," Roark said, looking just as annoyed as his father.

"Okay sorry," Harry said, "But couldn't you argue about fossils some other time?"

"Well to be honest," Roark said, "I didn't actually come here to argue about fossils."

"Ha! I knew I loved them more than you!" boomed Byron.

"Not true dad!" roared Roark and they started arguing again until Bronzor shut them both up with another Metal Sound.

"Why are you here, Roark?" asked Ash once Bronzor's Metal Sound stopped.

"Because it'll be my mom and dad's anniversary in a few days," Roark said still looking at Byron as he spoke, "And dad's missed every anniversary for the last three years!"

"Son you know your mother and I don't have an easy marriage," Byron said.

"Which is exactly why you should get back together for your anniversary and reconnect," Roark retaliated.

"When you're older you'll understand marriage is not that simple!" bellowed Byron. The two of them glared at each other.

"You're so selfish!" Roark snarled.

"Hey I left because if I didn't, you'd never reach your true potential!" Byron snapped back, "You think it was easy for me to leave my only son behind? If I stayed on as Gym Leader in Oreburgh City you would have just been my apprentice!" Roark's anger faded as he looked at his father in surprise. Byron sighed, "Come with me. You lot can come too," he added to his visitors and they all left the battle room.

Byron unlocked a door in the corridor outside and led the others into a large room. Inside were numerous fossils on shelves, arranged neatly along the room. Roark looked impressed. At the back of the room was an Old Amber, a fossil that contained an Aerodactyl. Roark smirked when he saw it.

"You haven't revived it yet?" he said, "For your information I had an Aerodactyl flying around Oreburgh City."

"Yeah I saw that mess on the news," Byron grunted, "Didn't these kids help you out? Except him." He pointed at Harry rather rudely before going to the back of the room. Beside the Aerodactyl fossil was a small safe. Byron looked back at Roark and said, "This safe contains the most precious fossil in my collection." He unlocked it and took out a small box before returning to the others. He opened the box and showed Roark the fossil inside.

It didn't look like anything special but Roark recognized it instantly.

"Is that…?"

"The very first fossil you ever dug up?" Byron said, "Yep the very same. I was so proud that you were following in my footsteps so I've kept the fossil all these years. But when I realized you could also be a great Gym Leader I didn't want to take that away from you. Plus your mother was driving me nuts." Everyone sweat dropped when he said that, "But seriously Roark, if I'd stayed you would never have learned to become a great trainer on your own. You would have always been in my shadow."

Roark was looking very emotional right now, "So you do care about me?"

"Of course I do, kiddo," Byron said closing the box and putting a hand on his shoulder, "I love you and if you don't mind, I'd like to see with my own eyes how much you've developed as a trainer since I left." Roark glanced back at the others. Byron seemed to have completely forgotten they were there.

"You know what?" said Dawn, "It could be really interesting to see two Gym Leaders battle each other."

"And a father and son too," Brock said. Harry and Ash looked at each other, then shrugged.

"Okay," Harry said, "I think Ash and I can wait for our gym battles a little longer."

Byron and Roark faced each other in the battle room and the referee stood beside the rocky battlefield.

"Okay dad here's the deal," said Roark, "If I win you've gotta come back to Oreburgh City for your wedding anniversary."

"Deal," Byron said.

"Two on two?" Roark asked.

"You're on," Byron replied, "I love Kabutops!" the same deadly looking creature Byron had used on Iron Island appeared.

"Omastar let's go!" cried Roark and sent out a Pokemon that looked like an ammonite with spikes on its shell and tentacles appeared. Harry scanned the creature.

" _Omastar the Spiral Pokemon and evolved form of Omanyte. Its tentacles serve as both its hands and feet. As soon as it ensnares prey, it bites with four sharp fangs_."

"Let the battle begin!" cried the referee.

"Omastar use Hydro Pump!" ordered Roark and Omastar squirted a powerful blast of water from his mouth at Kabutops.

"Kabutops Protect!" bellowed Byron and Kabutops surrounded himself with a green sphere to block the Hydro Pump, "Now let's give 'em a taste of your Night Slash!" Kabutops terrifying claws glowed black as he lunged at Omastar. The Night Slash was powerful enough to send Omastar crashing into a rock but the Spiral Pokemon's shell provided decent protection against the attack.

"Omastar use Mud Shot!" ordered Roark and Omastar shot a stream of mud from his mouth which hit Kabutops in the belly.

"Kabutops let's give 'em another Night Slash!" bellowed Byron and Kabutops lunged once more but slightly slower than last time. Nonetheless he slashed Omastar with another powerful Night Slash sending him flying.

"Use Mud Shot!" yelled Roark and Omastar shot another Mud Shot at Kabutops.

"Protect!" bellowed Byron and Kabutops blocked the attack with a green barrier.

"Rock Blast go!" Roark ordered and Omastar formed and fired five large rocks in quick succession.

"Ha!" bellowed Byron, "Night Slash!" Kabutops' blades moved with quick and deadly precision. The black glow around his claws gave them enough power to slice through each rock before they could strike him. Roark gasped in shock, "Son, you should know I train all my Pokemon to have strong defences. Just because Kabutops specializes in attacking, doesn't mean Protect is his only defensive technique! Use Giga Drain!"

"Kabuuuu!" said Kabutops and Omastar glowed green before bellowing as the green energy around him connected to Kabutops and began draining his strength.

"Omastar!" cried Roark but when the Giga Drain was complete, Omastar was unconscious.

"Omastar is unable to battle, Kabutops wins!"

"Great work Kabutops!" bellowed Byron and Kabutops raised one of his scythes triumphantly.

"Great work Omastar," said Roark, "Alright Rampardos let's go!" The familiar Headbutt Pokemon appeared and grunted at Kabutops, "Use Earthquake!" Rampardos stomped hard on the ground and the battlefield shook violently. Kabutops lost his balance and crashed painfully into a rock.

"Kabutops Aqua Jet!" Byron yelled and Kabutops surrounded himself with water before lunging at Rampardos.

"Head Smash go!" Roark ordered and Rampardos lunged at Kabutops surrounding himself with blue energy. The two Pokemon collided but Head Smash was far too powerful for Aqua Jet, despite being a Rock type move, and Kabutops was sent flying into the wall behind Byron. Rampardos winced in pain as the recoil effect kicked in.

"Kabutops is unable to battle, Rampardos wins!"

"Not bad son," said Byron as he recalled Kabutops, "But your Rampardos won't be able to overcome my Bastiodon! Let's show 'em old buddy!" A four-legged Pokemon with a face that resembled a shield appeared. Dawn scanned it.

" _Bastiodon the Shield Pokemon and the evolved form of Shieldon. When attacked, herds of Bastiodon would form a wall. Their steel-hard faces serve to protect them from the attacks_."

"Rampardos use Zen Headbutt!" Roark ordered and Rampardos charged at Bastiodon.

"Iron Defense!" bellowed Byron and Bastiodon's face glowed blue and a white shine went down over it just before impact. Bastiodon just stood there as Rampardos' Rock hard head collided with his even harder Steel face, "Now Iron Head!" Bastiodon surrounded his entire body with a white glow before shoving Rampardos backwards. Fortunately for Roark, Bastiodon didn't have much momentum behind the attack, so Rampardos quickly recovered.

"Flamethrower!" both Gym Leaders ordered at the same time and both Pokemon fired streams of fire which exploded when they made contact.

"Alright Rampardos, Head Smash!" ordered Roark. Byron smirked as Rampardos surrounded himself with blue energy.

"Iron Head!" Byron yelled and Bastiodon became surrounded by white light once more and this time was able to build up momentum by charging at Rampardos. The two Pokemon collided and there was an explosion that knocked them both backwards before Rampardos winced again from the recoil damage, "Bastiodon use Ancient Power!" Bastiodon's body was surrounded by a white outline before white rocks appeared around him and solidified into real rocks.

"Bastio!" boomed Bastiodon and the rocks pummeled Rampardos who collapsed to the ground.

"Hang in there Rampardos!" yelled Roark and the Headbutt Pokemon heaved himself onto his feet, "Endeavour!"

"What's Endeavour?" Dawn asked Brock as Rampardos was surrounded by blue energy before slamming into Bastiodon and transferring the blue energy onto him. Suddenly Bastiodon looked just as tired as Rampardos.

"It's a move that enables a Pokemon to bring its opponent's energy down to the users current level of health," Brock explained, "Since Rampardos took a lot more damage than Bastiodon, Roark used Endeavour to make Bastiodon as tired as Rampardos was which means that they're still evenly matched."

"Well son, I see I made the right decision by leaving you in charge of the Oreburgh Gym!" Byron complimented, "But it's not over! Use Flamethrower!"

"You too Rampardos!" Roark countered and once again two Flamethrowers collided, "I'm afraid it is over dad. Use Earthquake!"

"Rampardos!" bellowed Rampardos and stomped hard on the ground causing the entire room to tremble. The violent shaking of the battlefield caused Bastiodon to topple sideways into a rock. Finally the attack stopped. Bastiodon didn't get up.

"Bastiodon!" cried Byron in shock.

"Bastiodon is unable to battle Rampardos wins!" cried the referee, "And that means Roark has defeated Byron!"

"Wow!" cried Dawn, "Roark beat his own dad!"

"Rampardos was awesome!" cried Ash. The Headbutt Pokemon looked worn out but was smiling triumphantly.

"What do you know?" said Byron in an unusually quiet voice, "My own son beat me," He smiled proudly and went to Bastiodon's side. The Shield Pokemon looked rather ashamed, "Hey buddy don't look so down. Being a Rock and Steel type has its disadvantages but you put up a great fight. Now you take a break," he recalled Bastiodon and looked up at his son, "Well Roark, you beat your old man. Congratulations. As agreed, I'll spend this year's anniversary with the family."

"Thanks dad," Roark said.

"But we still have a couple of days," Byron added, "And I wanna battle these whippersnappers first!"

"Okay," Roark said then looked at Harry and Ash, "Then I want to serve as referee for the battles. If that's okay with you," he added to the referee who shrugged.

"No problem," he said.

"Remember Ash," Harry said as the group left the gym so that Byron could get Bastiodon healed, "I'm going first."


	39. Battling Byron

**In answer to GarionRiva, I have vague plans for Harry to accompany Ash to Unova in order to make up for the mess the anime made in that region.**

After seeing Byron get beaten by his own son, Harry was confident in his ability to defeat the Gym Leader. Ash, Dawn and Brock watched from the stands along with the official referee while Roark explained the rules. Harry was getting a little bit bored of all Gym battles being three on three.

"I love Steelix!" roared Byron releasing his first Pokemon which was a giant snake made of steel with iron spikes sticking out of its body and powerful jaws. Harry took out his pokedex.

" _Steelix the Iron Snake Pokemon and the evolved form of Onix. Whilst digging through the ground it chews its way through boulders with its sturdy jaws_."

Harry remembered the Steelix that had crushed a boulder on Iron Island. He ran through his options quickly before throwing a Poke Ball and calling, "Chimchar take your position!" The Chimp Pokemon appeared.

"Begin!" cried Roark, raising his arms.

"Use Flamethrower!" Chimchar fired a stream of flames at Steeix.

"Sandstorm Steelix!" roared Byron and Steelix spun the rocks with the spikes sticking out of them rapidly, whipping up a Sandstorm. The Sandstorm overwhelmed Flamethrower and Chimchar shielded her eyes.

"Flame Wheel!" Harry shouted and Chimchar jumped into a Flame Wheel and rolled towards Steelix but the Sandstorm was severely limiting her mobility and firepower.

"Iron Tail!" ordered Byron and Steelix smashed its tail into Chimchar even though she was still inside her Flame Wheel. Chimchar hit the ground hard and groaned in pain.

"Chimchar Flamethrower!" Harry yelled and Chimchar fired another Flamethrower which was blown away by the swirling Sandstorm.

"Steelix Iron Tail again!" bellowed Byron and Steelix swung its mighty tail once again.

"Dodge it!" cried Harry. Fortunately for Chimchar, Steelix was so big that even she could see its shadow approaching her even through the Sandstorm. She leapt back away from the glowing tail, wincing as the Sandstorm hurt her again, "Chimchar return!" Chimchar disappeared into her Poke Ball.

"Wise decision kid," Byron praised, "Your Chimchar didn't have a chance against Steelix's Sandstorm."

"Buizel take your position!" Harry called and Buizel appeared and sweat dropped when he saw the massive Steelix but quickly recovered. "Water Gun!" Buizel squirted a Water Gun and the Water type move successfully penetrated Sandstorm and hit Steelix. The Iron Snake Pokemon grunted but didn't seem badly hurt, despite the super effectiveness of the move.

"Use Rock Tomb, Steelix!" Steelix smashed the ground with its tail and four huge rocks burst out and trapped Buizel between them, squeezing him tightly. "Now use Iron Tail!" Steelix swung its huge tail which glowed white. The Iron Tail smashed the Rock Tomb away as though it wasn't there and Buizel crashed to the ground. He groaned and struggled to get up.

Then he glowed white. Steelix grunted in surprise as Buizel evolved into Floatzel right in front of it. The Sandstorm died away.

"Excellent!" Harry said excitedly, "Alright Floatzel use Water Gun!" Floatzel squirted a more powerful Water Gun and Steelix roared as it was hit by the super effective attack.

"Steelix use Crunch!" Steelix's massive body loomed over Floatzel and lunged with its jaws wide open. Floatzel grinned confidently and inflated his floatation sac. Steelix slammed its jaws shut around the Water type but Floatzel's thick sac absorbed most of the damage.

"Was that Bulk Up?" Dawn asked Brock.

"No," Brock replied, "Inflating his floatation sac is an instinctive defensive technique. Crasher Wake's Floatzel just took it to the next level with Bulk Up."

"Water Pulse!" ordered Harry and Floatzel formed a Water Pulse whilst still in Steelix's mouth before slamming it directly onto its head. The Water Pulse burst open and sent water washing over Steelix, who released Floatzel with a roar of pain, before toppling to the ground.

"Steelix is unable to battle, Floatzel wins!" announced Roark.

"Nice job Steelix, you take a rest," Byron said, "I love Kabutops!" Once again the lethal looking Shellfish Pokemon emerged, "Metal Sound!" Kabutops rubbed its claws together and silver colored sound waves spread out and washed over Floatzel who covered his ears in discomfort, "Hydro Pump!" Kabutops formed an orb of water in front of its head and then fired a powerful jet of water from the orb at Floatzel blasting him into a rock.

"You okay Floatzel?" Harry called. Floatzel grunted and picked himself up, glaring at Kabutops, "Aqua Jet!"

"You use Aqua Jet too!" ordered Byron and the two Pokémon surrounded themselves with water and collided at top speed, the impact knocking them both backwards.

"Brick Break!" Harry shouted and Floatzel slammed a Brick Break onto Kabutops' head.

"Kabutops use Giga Drain!" bellowed Byron and Floatzel glowed green before yelling as the green energy around him connected to Kabutops and began draining his strength. The bruise Kabutops received from Brick Break healed and Floatzel collapsed.

"Floatzel is unable to battle, Kabutops wins!" announced Roark.

"Floatzel you were great so get some rest," Harry said then looked down at Riolu who nodded and jumped onto the battlefield, "Aura Sphere!"

"Protect!" cried Byron and Kabutops formed a green sphere around his body as Aura Sphere shot towards him. The attack exploded harmlessly against the barrier, "Use Aqua Jet!"

"Counter!" Harry countered as Kabutops enveloped his body in water and shot towards Riolu. The Emanation Pokemon glowed red and Kabutops bounced off him, taking twice the damage, "Use Brick Break!"

"Riolu!" cried Riolu and smashed a Brick Break onto Kabutops' head in the exact same spot where Floatzel had hit him. For a moment the Shellfish Pokemon glared at him. Then he collapsed and Roark raised his arm.

"Kabutops is unable to battle, Riolu wins!"

"You're Riolu's quite strong, kid," Byron complimented, "But this battle's not over yet. I love Bastiodon!" The Shield Pokemon burst out of the Poke Ball and pawed the ground, ready to fight.

"Just Bastiodon left Riolu," Harry said, "And Fighting type moves will do _huge_ damage to him." Riolu nodded and smirked. "Let's get this finished quickly. Use Aura Sphere at full power!" Riolu formed an Aura Sphere, let it grow for a few seconds and then hurled it at Bastiodon.

"Big mistake," Byron said smirking, "You know what to do, Bastiodon!"

"Bastio," Bastiodon nodded. A moment later the Aura Sphere smashed into him and exploded. Bastiodon skidded back several meters but then smirked and his face glowed white. A huge blast of white light exploded out of his face much like whenever Dawn's Piplup used Bide. The light sent Riolu smashing against the wall so hard that a crater was formed in the stone.

"Riolu!" cried Harry.

"Riolu is unable to battle, Bastiodon wins!" announced Roark. Harry didn't understand what had just happened.

"How did Bastiodon…?" he looked at Byron for answers.

"That was Bastiodon's Metal Burst," explained Byron, "It's Counter and Mirror Coat rolled into one. And thanks to Bastiodon's Sturdy Ability it's impossible to knock him out with one hit even with a Fighting or Ground type move. I've faced countless challengers who try to take out Bastiodon with a single hit so he knows exactly when to use Metal Burst." Harry was shocked but quickly recovered as he remembered he still had one Pokémon left.

"Riolu you get some rest," he said and recalled Riolu, "Chimchar come on out and finish this with Flamethrower!" Chimchar had barely left the Poke Ball before she fired Flamethrower at Bastiodon. Byron smirked.

"Ancient Power!" he ordered and Bastiodon surrounded his body with a white outline and white rocks appeared around him before solidifying into real rocks. The rocks levitated in front of Bastiodon like a shield. Flamethrower collided with the Ancient Power but Bastiodon stood safely behind his shield of rocks, undamaged by the attack.

"Seriously?" Harry said, "Counter Shield again?" Byron looked blank.

"What's Counter Shield?" he asked as Bastiodon fired the Ancient Power right through the Flamethrower and into Chimchar, "Bastiodon Iron Head!" With surprising speed, Bastiodon thundered towards Chimchar and glowed white before slamming into her and knocking her out.

"Chimchar is unable to battle, Bastiodon wins!" cried Roark, "And that means Byron the Gym Leader wins the match!"

Harry was stunned. He'd been so confident that it had gone to his head and he underestimated Byron. He recalled Chimchar and said, "Good work, Chimchar."

"Harry," Byron said, "You got overconfident and therefore you became careless. Just because Bastiodon has a huge weakness to Fighting type moves, it doesn't mean using a Fighting type move will guarantee victory. And as you can see, Bastiodon's Ancient Power is not only a strong attack but makes an excellent shield to make up for when Sturdy wears off," Harry nodded a bit glumly as Ash, Brock and Dawn came down from the stands, "Hey Ash! We'll have our battle tomorrow okay?"

"Right," Ash nodded.

* * *

The next day the group was back and Byron was facing Ash. Once more Roark was the referee and it was going to be a three on three battle.

"I love Bronzor!" bellowed Byron and sent out a Bronzor identical to Harry's Bronzor.

"Gliscor I choose you!" cried Ash and sent out a Pokemon resembling a bat and a scorpion. Harry had never seen Ash's Gliscor in battle outside training.

"Let the battle begin!" cried Roark

"Alright Gliscor, X-Scissor go!" yelled Ash and Gliscor crossed her pincer like claws which glowed blue. She then darted towards Bronzor.

"Iron Defense!" boomed Byron and the outline of Bronzor's body glowed silver before a white light briefly passed down over its face. Gliscor slashed it with her claws in an X shape but Bronzor was only knocked back about a meter and barely seemed hurt, "Now Bronzor use Gyro Ball!" Bronzor surrounded itself with two rings of blue light and spun very quickly before slamming into Gliscor.

"Gliscor, Fire Fang!" ordered Ash and Gliscor lunged and her fangs blazed before she bit down on Bronzor. Bronzor wasn't able to do any facial expressions except move its eyes so it just narrowed them slightly in what might be interpreted as a smirk if it had a mouth or eyebrows.

"Gyro Ball!" yelled Byron and Bronzor surrounded itself with blue light again and started spinning while Gliscor was still using Fire Fang on it. Gliscor quickly became dizzy and released Bronzor who immediately stopped Gyro Ball as Byron called out his next command, "Now use Shadow Ball!" Bronzor formed a black orb in front of its face and shot it at the dizzy Gliscor, knocking her to the ground.

"Gliscor are you okay?" Ash asked. Gliscor winced and rubbed her head with one of her closed pincers before jumping onto her tail, "Alright use Screech!"

"GLIIIIIIII!" Gliscor let out a deafening Screech. Bronzor's near-expressionless face closed its eyes in discomfort, "Now X-Scissor!" Gliscor darted forwards and slashed Bronzor with her claws in an X shape. This time she actually seemed to hurt it.

"Bronzor use Shadow Ball!" ordered Byron and Bronzor shot another shadowy orb at Gliscor.

"Dodge it and use X-Scissor!" Ash called and Gliscor flew over the Shadow Ball before descending with her pincers crossed.

"Psychic!" ordered Byron and Bronzor's eyes glowed blue. Blue light surrounded Gliscor and she was hurled to the ground, "Good now Gyro Ball!"

"Gliscor dodge!" yelled Ash as Bronzor spun towards Gliscor. Gliscor quickly used her tail to propel herself up before spreading her wings and flying safely above Bronzor, "Screech!" Gliscor Screeched again lowering Bronzor's Defense further, "Now X-Scissor!"

"Iron Defence!" boomed Byron and Bronzor's body glowed again just before Gliscor made contact. The X-Scissor smashed Bronzor into the ground but thanks to Iron Defence Bronzor managed to float back into the air. It had to be getting tired by now, but without any physical way of showing its condition it was hard to tell how much damage it had actually taken. "Bronzor use Psychic!"

"Bron," said Bronzor and its eyes glowed blue.

"Sand Attack!" ordered Ash and Gliscor quickly used her claws to flick sand into Bronzor's eyes. Bronzor stopped its Psychic and blinked rapidly, shaking itself as it tried to clear its eyes, "X-Scissor!"

"Gliiiscor!" Gliscor smashed Bronzor with one last X-Scissor and it smashed into a rock and fell on its face. Roark gave it about five seconds to get up again but it didn't.

"Bronzor is unable to battle, Gliscor wins!" called Roark.

"Nice job Bronzor take a good rest," said Byron, "I love Steelix!" The huge creature who had caused Harry's Buizel to evolve appeared once more.

"Gliscor Screech!" ordered Ash and Gliscor screamed at Steelix who closed its eyes and winced at the volume, "Use Fire Fang!" Gliscor flew forwards and snapped her blazing fangs shut on one of the steel spikes sticking out of Steelix's body.

"Dragonbreath!" boomed Byron and Steelix looked straight down at Gliscor and then fired green flames from its mouth. Gliscor was forced to release the huge Pokemon as Dragonbreath slammed her into the ground.

"Gliscor is unable to battle, Steelix wins!"

"Great job Gliscor," Ash said, "Okay Buizel I choose you!" Byron raised an eyebrow.

"So you have a Buizel too," he said, "Alright Steelix let's get this over with. Rock Tomb!"

"Aqua Jet!" ordered Ash as Steelix smashed the ground with his tail. Four large rocks burst out of the ground but Buizel had launched himself towards Steelix, surrounded by water. He collided with the Iron Snake Pokemon who roared.

"Iron Tail!" bellowed Byron and Steelix smashed Buizel with its glowing white tail sending him flying. Buizel got up and rubbed his throbbing head. The Iron Tail had done a lot of damage but Buizel also had a headache from colliding head on with the massive Steel type, even though Steelix's Ground type characteristics made Aqua Jet super effective. "You know colliding head first with a Pokemon made from Steel is not a good idea. Use Dragonbreath!" Steelix roared and fired green flames.

"Water Gun!" called Ash and Buizel squirted a Water Gun at the Dragonbreath. The attacks collided and exploded.

"Rock Tomb!" cried Byron and Steelix smashed the ground.

"Dodge it then Water Pulse!" Buizel jumped and flipped away from the Rock Tomb forming the orb in the middle of his somersault before slamming the orb into the ground as soon as his feet touched the ground. The water burst out of the orb in a wave and Steelix roared as the water struck it.

"Double-Edge!" ordered Byron.

"Aqua Pulse!" called Ash and Buizel created Water Pulse before surrounding the orb with Aqua Jet while Steelix glowed white and lunged. The Water Pulse cushioned Buizel's impact when he slammed into Steelix whilst also adding extra power to the Aqua Jet so that, despite its much greater size and weight, Steelix couldn't overpower him. There was an explosion and both Pokemon were blown backwards, "Water Gun!"

"Bui!" cried Buizel and backflipped onto his feet before squirting Water Gun straight into Steelix's face. The Iron Snake Pokemon crashed to the ground.

"Steelix is unable to battle, Buizel wins!"

"Good work Steelix have a break," Byron congratulated his Pokemon as he recalled it and took out another Poke Ball, "Great combination of Water Pulse and Aqua Jet Ash. I'm impressed but I'm not finished just yet. I love Bastiodon!" The Shield Pokemon appeared again.

"Buizel Water Gun!" ordered Ash and Buizel squirted a Water Gun at Bastiodon.

"Ancient Power!" ordered Byron and Bastiodon summoned rocks around him, using them to shield himself from Water Gun before firing them at Buizel.

"Dodge it!" called Ash and Buizel jumped but the Ancient Power went after him, "What the…!"

"Ancient Power can change direction?!" Harry gasped as the attack smashed into Buizel and knocked him down.

"You really got the hang of controlling your Ancient Power, Bastiodon. Now use Iron Head!" roared Byron and Bastiodon glowed white and charged straight towards Buizel slamming into him headfirst. Buizel was unconscious before he hit the ground.

"Buizel's unable to battle, Bastiodon wins!"

"Wow I didn't know Ancient Power could be used like that," Ash muttered.

"Only Fossil Pokemon have the ability to use it like that," Byron told him, "They must have developed it millions of years ago but _how_ they do it is a complete mystery. Modern day Pokemon that can learn Ancient Power like Piloswine, Tangela and Yanma don't have that level of control even though they evolve when they learn it."

"Wait so my Piloswine will evolve into Mamoswine when it learns Ancient Power?" Dawn asked Brock and he nodded.

"I see," Ash said, "Alright Chimchar I choose you!" His Chimp Pokemon appeared, "Flamethrower!"

"Ancient Power!" Byron countered and Bastiodon used the rocks he created to shield himself from Flamethrower before sending them towards Chimchar.

"Use Dig!" ordered Ash and Chimchar quickly dived into the ground. The rocks were too big to follow him.

"Iron Defence!" called Byron and Bastiodon's face glowed as he raised his Defense by two levels.

"Aim for its belly, not its face!" Ash instructed and Chimchar burst out underneath Bastiodon's vulnerable underside, throwing the larger Pokemon backwards, "Now Flamethrower!" Chimchar blasted Bastiodon with Flamethrower before he could summon Ancient Power.

"Metal Burst!" boomed Byron and Bastiodon's face glowed white before it unleashed white energy with twice the power. Chimchar crashed into a rock, "Now use Iron Head!"

"Quick Flame Wheel!" ordered Ash and the two Pokemon charged at each other and collided. Despite Flame Wheel's type advantage Bastiodon forced his way through throwing Chimchar backwards.

"Bastiodon's earlier Iron Defense raised its resistance to Flame Wheel so much that it barely seemed to feel that Flame Wheel!" Brock cried.

"Ancient Power!" bellowed Byron and Bastiodon formed more rocks and shot them at Chimchar striking him hard.

"Chimchar!" cried Ash. Chimchar struggled to pick himself up. He felt energy build up inside him but it wasn't the same as when he was using Blaze. Chimchar's body turned white. Everyone gasped as Chimchar grew larger and developed a proper tail which maintained a bigger version of the flame that had once been on his butt.

"Monferno!" cried the newly evolved Pokemon.

"Awesome!" cried Ash and took out his pokedex.

" _Monferno the Playful Pokemon and the evolved form of Chimchar. It skillfully controls the intensity of the fire on its tail to keep its foes at an ideal distance_."

"Alright then Monferno use Flamethrower!" Ash yelled and Monferno shot a more powerful Flamethrower at Bastiodon.

"Ancient Power!" boomed Byron and Bastiodon used Ancient Power as a shield before shooting it at Monferno. Ash was about to command Monferno to use Dig but the Playful Pokemon had a better idea. His fists glowed white and he punched with lightning speed, shattering each rock before they hit him, "Hey what!"

"Wow Monferno learned Mach Punch!" Ash said.

"Well this battle just got a lot more interesting," Byron said grinning, "Bastiodon Iron Head!"

"Flame Wheel!" Ash countered and both Pokemon collided. This time they were evenly matched and the explosion blew them both back.

"Ancient Power!"

"Mach Punch!"

Once more Monferno shattered each rock before they touched him but Byron had expected that and bellowed, "Iron Head!" As soon as Monferno stopped smashing the Ancient Power, Bastiodon rammed into him and he crashed into a rock.

Then Monferno's Blaze activated.

Harry had never witnessed Ash's Chimchar use Blaze but his friends had told him what happened whenever Chimchar activated it. Now that he was a Monferno, he could cause a lot more damage which also made him dangerous if he couldn't control the Ability.

"MONFERNO!" shrieked Monferno as his eyes glowed red like his blazing tail. Without waiting for Ash's command, he rolled into a Flame Wheel and lunged at Bastiodon.

"What the… Iron Defense!" roared Byron just in time and Bastiodon hardened his face just before Monferno hit him. Despite the significantly increased Defense, the Flame Wheel still hurt. Monferno emerged and swung his blazing tail just like the pokedex said forcing Bastiodon to back away. By now Bastiodon was looking a bit frightened.

"Monferno calm down!" yelled Ash. Monferno ignored him and shot a huge Flamethrower into Bastiodon. The Shield Pokemon bellowed with pain and collapsed.

"Bastiodon is unable to battle Monferno wins," Roark glanced at Monferno whose tail was still blazing even though the battle was over, "Ash and Monferno have won the gym battle!"

"We won Monferno!" Ash called and Monferno turned to face him. Then with a shriek he shot a Flamethrower at his trainer. Ash ducked out of the way just in time, "Monferno it's over! Stop!" Monferno rolled into a Flame Wheel and both Ash and Pikachu had to jump aside. The furious Monferno turned to face them.

"What the hell is wrong with it!?" roared Byron. Another Flamethrower shot across the room, forcing Byron to duck and leaving a scorch mark on the wall.

Then Harry's Poke Ball opened and his Chimchar appeared. Harry glanced at her in surprise as she leapt onto the battlefield, facing off against her evolved form.

"Chim! Chimchar, har! Char!" she cried but Monferno didn't seem to recognize her. Instead he just lunged his fist glowing with the power of Mach Punch.

"Chimchar!" Harry cried but Chimchar didn't move. The Mach Punch sent her flying across the room.

"Oh no!" cried Dawn as Monferno leapt at Chimchar and pounded Chimchar with another Mach Punch. Chimchar didn't do anything to defend herself.

"Monferno return!" cried Ash but Monferno dodged the Poke Ball's red beam and swung his tail into Chimchar before smashing her in the gut with another Mach Punch. Still Chimchar didn't fight back.

"Chimchar what are you doing?!" yelled Harry and pulled out his own Poke Ball. He recalled her. Chimchar burst out again and jumped back towards Monferno, allowing herself to be her evolved form's punching bag.

Finally, when Chimchar was on her hands and knees and covered in bruises, her own Blaze activated. Monferno took a step back in surprise as Chimchar got to her feet. Unlike Monferno however, she was calm even though she'd just received a horrible beating from her own friend. She didn't even try to attack him.

Finally everyone understood what Chimchar was trying to do.

Monferno looked at the calm Chimchar who simply stood in front of him with the flame on her bottom at least the size of her tiny body. But she wasn't doing anything with the power she had gained. She was glaring at Monferno but rather than a glare that implied a wish to battle, it was the kind of glare that seemed to say "Snap out of it!"

"Chimchar's trying to teach Monferno to control Blaze!" Brock exclaimed.

"But she just got herself badly hurt," Harry said.

"I guess that shows how dedicated she is to helping Monferno master his Ability," Dawn said.

"Monferno?" said Monferno staring at Chimchar who didn't say anything but just glared at him. Monferno slowly began to remember where he was. He wasn't on the edge of a cliff being attacked by Zangoose. He recognized Chimchar and his eyes widened in horror as he realized what he'd done to her, "Monferno!"

"Char, har, Chimchar," Chimchar said gently. She smiled weakly and gestured to her flaming backside. Monferno recognized that Chimchar wasn't having any problems controlling her own Blaze. He on the other hand had turned into a mindless beast. And he had really hurt her. She just took a merciless beating from him because she was trying to help him. Monferno felt disgusted with himself.

He started crying. Ash took a step forwards but Pikachu pulled on his trousers. When Ash looked down Pikachu shook his head as Chimchar limped towards Monferno.

"Monfer…" whimpered Monferno but then found his pre-evolved form, whom he had beaten to a pulp only moments earlier, hugging him. Her bottom was still blazing hotter than usual but to emphasize her control over Blaze she slowly let the power go until her flame returned to its normal size. Then she looked up at Monferno.

"Chimchar," she said. Monferno wiped his eyes and his own flame returned to normal. He thought he had gotten over his fear of Zangoose during the Tag Battle Tournament but the memory of the day he was trapped on a cliff and then captured by a cruel trainer had blinded him to the fact that he hadn't seen a Zangoose since Ash caught him and Paul was no longer his trainer. Monferno needed to remember that the past was the past and it could only affect him in the present if he allowed it to. Chimchar had helped him realize that it wasn't just the Zangoose that traumatized him but also Paul. He was so desperate to live up to Paul's outrageous expectations that he forgot Ash didn't have those expectations. Monferno didn't need to be a mindless fighting machine anymore.

"Monferno," he whispered, apologizing to Chimchar as tears fell down his face. The smaller Pokemon just smiled then limped towards her trainer. Harry stared at her with a mixure of disapproval and admiration.

"Chimchar that was… crazy but also really selfless, kind and brave," he said, "I'm proud of you." Chimchar smiled and fell into his arms. Harry took out a Poke Ball and recalled her, then stepped aside as Byron approached Ash.

"That was… intense," said Byron sounding unusually hesitant; he wasn't used to Pokemon going on rampages in his gym, "You beat me so the Mine Badge is yours." He held it out and Ash took it. He didn't feel very triumphant right now. Monferno stared guiltily at the ground as Byron continued "I hope Chimchar's example today will help Monferno learn to control his Ability. I've never seen a Pokemon go out of control from Blaze before."

"Monferno knows what Chimchar was trying to teach him," Ash said, "I think that what she did for him will help."

"Good," Byron said, "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go and heal my Pokemon." He strode out of the room. Ash looked around at his friends and Roark and finally at Monferno.

"You'll learn from what Chimchar did won't you?" Ash said.

"Monferno!" Monferno nodded firmly. From now on he was going to control himself and only focus Blaze's power on his opponents, never his friends.

 **This chapter wasn't easy to write because I originally planned for Byron to have an easier victory over Harry and for Buizel to evolve on Iron Island (which Harry will be visiting again next chapter). Also I needed to make Riolu and Chimchar's loss to Bastiodon realistic, which of course is where Sturdy comes in to ensure Bastiodon isn't knocked out by a single Aura Sphere, although originally I planned to have Chimchar lose to Steelix.**

 **Has anyone ever notice that when Cynthia was battling Aaron, both in this story and in the actual anime, her Gastrodon used Stone Edge in a way that was similar to Counter Shield to block Beautifly's Energy Ball/Solarbeam before knocking it out? Byron's doing the same with Ancient Power in this chapter, although obviously he doesn't call it Counter Shield. Harry sees the similarities between their techniques and his and Ash's more fancy ones.**

 **Also what do you think of Monferno evolving earlier than he did in the anime?**


	40. Training on Iron Island

Unfortunately for Harry, Byron and Roark had to leave the next day so that they could get back to Oreburgh City in time for the anniversary. This meant that Harry would have to wait at least three days for them to come back. And Dawn's next contest was approaching quickly so if they stayed in Canalave City for three days, there wouldn't be enough time to get to the town in which the contest was held.

"You guys need to go on without me," Harry insisted.

"But we want to support you," Dawn said.

"I got four of my badges without your support," Harry reminded her, "And I don't want you to miss your contest. How about I meet you at Snowpoint City?"

"That sounds good," said Brock, "Assuming you don't get lost on the way there."

"No promises," Harry said, "I'm fine with you going on without me. I'll find my way to Snowpoint City somehow."

"I think Harry's right, Dawn," Ash said, "You don't want to miss your contest." Dawn nodded.

"Okay," she agreed then looked back at Harry, "So we'll see you in Snowpoint City?"

"Yes," Harry nodded.

"The next boat's going to leave in fifteen minutes," Brock said, "We need to hurry."

"Right," Dawn said, "Bye Harry."

"Bye," Harry and Riolu waved and their friends waved back before hurrying off to catch their boat.

* * *

Harry decided to go and train on Iron Island for a while, so an hour after his friends left, he took a boat to the island. In addition to Riolu, he brought Bronzor, Chimchar, Floatzel, Eevee and Leafeon.

"Come on out everyone," Harry released his whole team, "Eevee, Leafeon, you haven't met Bronzor yet." The siblings looked up at the blank faced Pokemon who bobbed its body in what must be a nod, "Okay, how's your Shadow Ball Eevee?" Eevee smiled excitedly and shot four Shadow Balls into the air very quickly. Harry nodded approvingly, "You've been practicing. How about you have a little sparring match with Bronzor?"

"Eevee!" Eevee nodded and everyone else took a step back. Leafeon looked slightly worried. Eevee wasn't experienced in battle, even though she had nearly mastered the Rapid Fire Shadow Ball technique.

"Eevee Shadow Ball and Bronzor use Confusion!" Harry called. Eevee shot just one Shadow Ball and Bronzor's eyes glowed pink before a pink light surrounded the Shadow Ball stopping it in mid-air, "Okay Bronzor send it back and Eevee jump onto the ball then at Bronzor." Bronzor shot the Shadow Ball back at Eevee who jumped onto the ball, then sprang off again, "Bite!"

"Eevee!" Eevee bit Bronzor. Harry had not ordered Bronzor to use Iron Defense because otherwise Eevee would break her teeth. Without Iron Defense however, Eevee wasn't hurt – although Bronzor didn't taste nice - and just hung from Bronzor, holding up her whole body by the strength of her teeth and neck muscles alone. She was stronger than she looked.

"Okay Bronzor Gyro Ball!" Harry ordered and Bronzor spun on the spot as blue rings surrounded it, spinning Eevee around with it until she was dizzy. Eevee let go and landed on her back, dazed. Bronzor stopped spinning without ramming into her, "Okay that's enough for the moment you two. Well done." Leafeon went over to check on his dizzy sister. Eevee assured him she was okay and the Verdant Pokemon was satisfied.

"Harry!" called a familiar voice and Riley appeared accompanied by Lucario and Gallade.

"Hi Riley," Harry said, "Byron's out of town so I came here to do some training."

"Well do you want a sparring partner?" Riley asked.

"Sure," Harry replied, "I've never battled a Gallade before."

"Floatzel!" Floatzel stepped forwards and puffed up his flotation sac. He wanted to battle so Harry obliged.

"I'll go with Floatzel."

"Right," Riley glanced at Gallade who nodded and stepped forwards.

"Floatzel use Aqua Jet!" Harry ordered and Floatzel shot towards Gallade like a water bullet and slammed into him, sending him skidding backwards.

"Leaf Blade!" ordered Riley and the blades on Gallade's arms glowed bright green. He slashed Floatzel with one of the blades and sent him sprawling.

"Floatzel use Sonicboom!" Floatzel jumped to his feet, surprising Gallade with how quickly he recovered, before swinging his tail and launching multiple Sonicbooms. Gallade used Leaf Blade to destroy every single one, staying in exactly the same place the whole time "Try Water Gun!" Buizel squirted a jet of Water but Gallade simply used Leaf Blade to block it.

"Use Focus Blast!" called Riley and Gallade's blades finally stopped glowing and instead he formed a blue orb between his hands which could be mistaken for Aura Sphere. He then hurled it at Floatzel and knocked him to the ground.

"Floatzel!" Harry called.

"Leaf Blade!" Riley called and Gallade jumped towards Floatzel, his blades glowing. At the last second, Gallade stopped the Leaf Blade less than an inch from Floatzel's head as if responding to an unspoken command. Floatzel looked confused when Gallade stepped backwards. "That's enough for now."

"Why did Gallade stop?" Harry asked.

"Because I told him to," Riley said.

"No you didn't," Harry was confused.

"When you've been trained to use Aura you can learn to use telepathy," Riley told him, "The link between Gallade and I is strengthened by both Aura and Gallade's Psychic abilities."

"Can you talk to Lucario with your mind too?" asked Harry. Riley nodded.

"According to legend there was once a Lucario who was powerful enough to communicate with anyone, whether they had Aura or not," he said, "He belonged to the Legendary Aura Guardian Sir Aaron. Most Lucario can only communicate with people who have a connection to Aura."

"So when Riolu evolves could he communicate with me?" Harry asked.

"It's possible," Riley said. Riolu and Harry glanced at each other. "Have you ever seen a yellow Focus Blast?"

"Yes," Harry said, "Why?"

"Because only Pokemon with a connection to Aura can use a blue Focus Blast," Riley said. The only Pokemon besides Gallade that Harry had seen using a blue Focus Blast was Paul's Ursaring. Harry doubted that Paul either knew or cared that his Ursaring apparently had Aura.

"That's interesting," Harry said, "It explains why Gallade's Focus Blast looks like Aura Sphere. So if I want to know whether my Pokemon have Aura or not, all I have to do is teach them Focus Blast and see if it's blue or yellow?"

"Yes, if they're capable of learning Focus Blast," Riley confirmed, "If they can't, it's much harder to identify whether they have Aura or not."

"I see," Harry said, "And Aura using humans can basically use Protect, Aura Sphere and Focus Blast?"

"Not Aura Sphere," Riley said, "Human's can't lock onto Aura like Pokemon can. But yes we can essentially use those techniques. It takes a lot of training though. In the early stages of Aura training, practitioners just learn to sense what's around them, then they learn how to communicate with their minds."

"Can Aura practitioners learn those early things in three days?" Harry asked.

"Maybe they can learn to sense things in the immediate area in three days but it would be a very limited sense," Riley said, "The telepathic part takes much longer to master. Unless someone else uses it to communicate with you, in which case you'll remain linked."

Riolu was listening as intently as Harry. If he evolved he might be able to communicate with Harry more easily. But he was still procrastinating and didn't feel ready.

"How about you stay with me for the next three days and see how much you can learn?" Riley suggested.

"I still need to train for my upcoming Gym battle," Harry said.

"We can fit that in too," Riley replied.

* * *

The next day, Harry decided that it would be useful for Floatzel to learn Bulk Up and Ice Fang, remembering Crasher Wake's Floatzel and his mastery of the moves. Since none Harry or Riley's Pokémon actually knew Bulk Up and therefore Floatzel had no teacher, he simply inflated and deflated his new and improved floatation sac at first. Harry left Floatzel to practice Bulk Up and let his other Pokemon do whatever they liked while he and Riolu learned a bit more about Aura.

Since Bronzor, Floatzel, Eevee, Leafeon and Chimchar had a lot of freedom they either played with each other or practiced their moves. Eevee and Chimchar occasionally inteferred with Harry and Riolu's training for the sake of spending some time with them. Initially Harry found this annoying but Riley reminded him that he needed to consider his Pokemon's needs on top of learning about Aura.

By the end of the second day, Harry managed to get a vague sense of his and Riley's Pokémon's presences but no more than that. At the very least though, Chimchar and Eevee couldn't surprise him so easily now.

Outside Aura studying, Floatzel had managed to inflate his floatation sac and surround himself with the red light that signified his Bulk Up was successful. Upon seeing that, Harry decided to spend most of the third day trying to teach Floatzel Ice Fang. He was halfway successful as Floatzel was able to freeze his fangs but couldn't extend them like Crasher Wake's Floatzel.

Nurse Joy contacted Harry that evening to inform him that Byron had returned to the Gym. Although Floatzel had not mastered Ice Fang yet, Harry decided to return for his Gym battle the following day. However Floatzel wanted to have a rematch with Gallade first so Harry and Riley had another battle as the sun was setting.

"Gallade use Psycho Cut!" ordered Riley and Gallade fired two blue blades of Psychic power at Floatzel.

"Sonicboom!" Harry called and Floatzel fired two shock waves from his twin tails which collided with both Psycho Cuts and created an explosion, "Use Bulk Up!"

"Zel!" Floatzel said and inflated his floatation sac before clenching his fists and surrounding himself with red light. Riley nodded approvingly.

"A perfect Bulk Up," he said, "Focus Blast!" Gallade fired the blue orb at Floatzel.

"Water Pulse!" Floatzel shot a blue orb of his own and the two balls of energy collided and exploded on contact, "Use Aqua Jet!"

"Dodge it!" called Riley. Floatzel shot towards Gallade but as fast as he was, the Blade Pokemon was faster. Gallade jumped gracefully away and did a rather flashy spinning flip through the air before landing in perfect balance. Floatzel raised his eyebrows.

"Zel, zel," he said. Everyone interpreted that as "Showoff!" Gallade just smirked in response.

"Close Combat!" Riley called and Gallade jumped onto his hands, flipped over onto his feet and started pounding Floatzel with a flurry of punches and kicks.

"Bulk Up!" Harry called and Floatzel inflated and glowed in the middle of Gallade's assault. Gallade's blows struck his bulked up floatation sac but Floatzel just grinned in response, "Use Brick Break!" Floatzel slammed a Brick Break onto Gallade's head. Despite Gallade's resistance to Fighting type moves, the blow knocked him to the ground, "Great job Floatzel."

"Floatzel," Floatzel smirked and gave his trainer a thumbs up.

"Gallade use Psycho Cut!" ordered Riley and Gallade launched two blue blades at Floatzel.

"Dodge it and use Aqua Jet!" called Harry and Floatzel jumped before surrounding himself with water in mid-air and diving at Gallade. Gallade didn't move until Floatzel was nearly upon him, then stepped aside.

"Leaf Blade!" called Riley and Gallade slashed Floatzel with a super effective Leaf Blade as the Water type passed him. Floatzel did a rolled sideways along the ground a few times before stopping, "Now use Focus Blast!" Gallade formed and fired a Focus Blast while Floatzel was picking himself up. The attack slammed Floatzel into a rock.

"Floatzel are you okay?" asked Harry. Floatzel grunted and picked himself up. "Alright let's try an Ice Fang!" Floatzel leapt towards Gallade and opened his mouth. His fangs glowed white and he clamped them onto the surprise Gallade's arm, freezing his forearm in the process.

"Gallade Leaf Blade!" called Riley and Gallade slashed a Leaf Blade into Floatzel's face with his free arm, forcing him to let go. Gallade then looked at his frozen arm.

"Use Aqua Jet!" Harry ordered and Floatzel shot towards Gallade and smashed into him. Thanks to the boost of two Bulk Up's Gallade was sent flying. He backflipped and landed less gracefully than usual as he had one knee and one hand on the ground.

"Gallade use Swords Dance!" called Riley and Gallade's forearms glowed light purple and the blades grew longer. Then, he slashed his right arm and spun in a full circle before slashing his left arm and spinning another full circle in the opposite direction.

"Floatzel Water Pulse on the ground!" ordered Harry and Floatzel threw Water Pulse at the ground to create the familiar wave.

"Gallade Leaf Blade!" ordered Riley and Gallade lunged straight towards the wave and slammed a Leaf Blade into it with such power that the wave split right down the middle. Harry and Floatzel's eyes widened in shock as Gallade's Leaf Blade broke through the wave like the parting of the Red Sea. Now that Water Pulse was out of the way, Gallade swung his other arm slashing Floatzel right across the chest and smashing him into a rock.

"Zel," groaned Floatzel, then slumped to the ground and didn't get up.

"Looks like I win," Riley said, "But your Floatzel put up a better fight than last time." Gallade nodded in agreement.

"Thanks," Harry said, "Floatzel's Ice Fang needs more work but we'll worry about that after we've beaten Byron."


	41. Another Battle with Byron

Byron had returned without Roark or his wife. The anniversary visit hadn't been perfect and Byron and his wife still had a somewhat strained relationship, but at least they were on speaking terms now and willing to spend time with each other, for their son's sake if nothing else.

Quite honestly Harry wasn't interested in Byron's family life right now. He and the Gym Leader faced each other with the muscular referee standing on the side of the battlefield. Byron smirked.

"Alright kid," he said, "I hope you've been training hard, because I've got a new Pokemon right here. I love Bronzong!" The evolved form of Bronzor burst out of its Poke Ball. Bronzong resembled a large bluish-green bell with two long arms and red eyes.

 _"Bronzong the Bronze Bell Pokemon and evolved form of Bronzor. Bronzong was buried deep under ground centuries ago and was believed extinct until one was dug up in a construction site."_

"I wish I'd been the one to dig up the first Bronzong," Byron said, "But it doesn't matter cos I've got my own right here! Let's show the whippersnapper how strong you are now Bronzong!"

"Bronzong!" Bronzong boomed as Harry took out his Poke Ball.

"Drapion take your position!" he called and Drapion clamped his pincers eagerly, looking forward to showing his strength.

"Begin!" said the referee.

"Drapion use Dark Pulse!" Harry ordered and Drapion launched black rings which slammed into Bronzong and knocked it backwards. Bronzong skidded along the ground but was back in the air almost immediately.

"Use Trick Room!" boomed Byron and Bronzong's red eyes glowed blue before a large blue box surrounded the whole battlefield. Harry and Drapion looked around the box in confusion, "Now Gyro Ball!" The ends of Bronzong's arms glowed blue and it spun before shooting across the battlefield with surprising speed. Drapion grunted in surprise and pain as Bronzong smashed into him and sent him sliding backwards across the battlefield.

"How did Bronzong move so fast?" Harry asked.

"As long as Trick Room is in effect kid, the slowest Pokemon on the battlefield will have it's Speed increased while the fastest Pokemon will have it's Speed decreased," Byron explained, "Not only that but it _doesn't_ affect the power of Gyro Ball which is stronger on faster opponents. Show 'em another one Bronzong!"

"Bron, Bron, Bron!" cried Bronzong and smashed into Drapion again, this time knocking him off his feet.

"Drapion, Pin Missile!" Harry ordered and Drapion shot multiple missiles from all of his claws.

"Dodge and use Shadow Ball!" ordered Byron and Bronzong dodged all but one of the missiles. Drapion was faster than Bronzong but still not exceptionally fast so whilst battling him, Trick Room didn't turn Bronzong into a massively agile Pokémon. However Bronzong shrugged off the single missile that grazed it and formed a black ball between its arms. Drapion was hit in the face by the attack and roared in frustration.

"Dark Pulse!" Harry ordered and Drapion fired black rings once more.

"Dodge and use Gyro Ball!" roared Byron and Bronzong moved to the side and started spinning again.

"Grab it!" yelled Harry. Bronzong was fast enough to hit Drapion but not fast enough to escape. Drapion clamped his claws shut on both of Bronzong's arms, just where they joined its body, "Use Payback!" Drapion surrounded his body with a black outline, then smashed Bronzong onto the ground before spinning around and slamming it with his powerful tail, hard enough to smash it right through a rock.

"Payback huh!" Byron nodded approvingly, "Smart move. Use Shadow Ball!"

"Crush it with Crunch!" Harry countered. Bronzong formed fired the Shadow Ball quickly but the ball itself moved at the same speed as usual. Drapion opened his powerful jaws and slammed them shut on the orb, crushing it into a burst of black energy. "Pin Missile!" Missles shot out from the shadowy aura created by Shadow Ball and struck the surprised Bronzong as the last remnants of its failed attack faded away.

"This battle's getting interesting," Byron grinned, "Bronzong use Flash Cannon!" Bronzong flipped over and pointed its backside at Drapion before firing a sliver beam.

"Dark Pulse!" Harry called and Drapion's Dark Pulse met the Flash Cannon in mid-air creating an explosion, "Now Pin Missile!"

"Psychic!" ordered Byron. Harry was initially confused as Psychic wouldn't do anything to a Dark type like Drapion but when Bronzong's eyes glowed blue, blue energy surrounded all of the incoming missiles rather than the Pokemon that fired them, "Send 'em all back!" Bronzong sent all six missiles straight back at Drapion who roared in pain and surprise as he was hit by his own attack.

"Hang on Drapion!" Harry called, "Payback!" Drapion became surrounded with a black aura once more and lunged.

"Dodge it!" Byron shouted and Bronzong moved to the side but at that precise moment the Trick Room wore off. Drapion noticed and instinctively lashed out with his tail, hitting Bronzong and slamming it into another rock, although this one didn't break.

"Quick Dark Pulse!" Harry yelled not wanting to give Bronzong time to use another Trick Room.

"Flash Cannon!" Byron countered. Bronzong's backside was already facing Drapion so it didn't need to flip over before firing the silver beam at the incoming black rings. The attacks collided and there was another explosion. Bronzong was smashed through the rock, which had already been weakened when Payback knocked Bronzong into it, by the force of the blast while Drapion crashed into a larger rock and collapsed. Neither Pokemon got back up.

"Drapion and Bronzong are both unable to battle!" called the referee.

"Nice work, Bronzong," said Byron as he recalled Bronzong, "Too bad Trick Room wore off when it did. I love Steelix!" The giant Iron Snake appeared while Harry recalled Drapion.

"Well done Drapion," he said, "Despite Trick Room you still managed to take out Bronzong so you get some rest. Floatzel take your position!" Floatzel appeared and grinned confidently.

"Steelix use Screech!" boomed Byron

"Bulk Up!" Harry shouted just before Steelix let out its earsplitting Screech. Floatzel inflated his sac and jammed his fists into his ears to try and block out the noise while he glowed red.

"Use Rock Tomb!" Byron bellowed and Steelix smashed its tail on the ground and summoned Rock Tomb to trap Floatzel. "Now use Iron Tail!" Steelix swung its massive tail.

"Smash your way out with Aqua Jet!" ordered Harry and Floatzel, who still had his floatation sac inflated, surrounded himself with water and then rocketed out of the Rock Tomb, smashing them in the process. Steelix's Iron Tail missed completely, "Go!" Floatzel pointed his body towards Steelix and slammed into it, knocking the Iron Snake Pokemon backwards.

"Excellent!" boomed Byron, "That was impressive, but the battle's not over! Steelix use Crunch!"

"Bulk Up!" Harry ordered quickly and Floatzel bulked up his sac just as Steelix's powerful jaws closed around him. The thick sac protected Floatzel from Crunch while the red glow surrounded him, increasing his Attack and Defense for the second time.

"Dragonbreath!" bellowed Byron and Steelix built up green flames in its mouth whilst Floatzel was still inside it, before shooting him out and smashing him against the wall. Floatzel crashed down on his hands and knees. "Steelix finish it off with Double-Edge!"

"Aqua Jet!" Harry yelled. Floatzel surrounded himself with water and shot straight into the much larger Pokemon. Thanks to the boost of two Bulk Ups and his type advantage, Floatzel overpowered Steelix and sent it toppling to the ground.

"Steelix is unable to battle, Floatzel wins!"

"Good work Steelix. You fought well," Byron said as he recalled Steelix, "I'm enjoying our battle kid, but let's see if you can take out my Bastiodon! I love you buddy!" Bastiodon burst out and pawed the ground.

"Aqua Jet!" Harry ordered.

"Iron Defense!" boomed Byron. Floatzel was fast enough to hit Bastiodon before he increased his Defense but Bastiodon's Shield like face still enabled him to take the hit. However it pushed him back several feet before the white shine went down over his face to signify his Defense had risen by two levels, "Now use Metal Burst!"

"Bastiodon can use Metal Burst right after Iron Defense!?" Harry said in shock. Bastiodon unleashed a blast of white energy at point blank range. Everyone knew Floatzel was defeated before the referee confirmed it.

"Floatzel is unable to battle, Bastiodon wins!"

"Way to go, Bastiodon!" Byron cried, "A great combination!" Bastiodon glanced back at his trainer and nodded in appreciation.

"Floatzel you were excellent," Harry said, "You rest now." He didn't even glance at Riolu and Riolu didn't glance at him, stepping straight onto the battlefield without being asked, "Alright Riolu be very careful of Metal Burst. Because of Bastiodon's defensive techniques there's no guarantee you'll knock it out in one hit, even though Floatzel deactivated Sturdy."

"Riolu," Riolu nodded.

"Aura Sphere!"

"Ancient Power!"

Riolu fired Aura Sphere but Bastiodon used the rocks created by Ancient Power as a shield before sending them flying towards his Fighting type foe. Riolu winced and stumbled as he was pounded by the attack, but he wasn't hurt much.

"Now use Flamethrower!" boomed Byron and Bastiodon shot a stream of flames at Riolu.

"Dodge it and use Brick Break!" ordered Harry and Riolu leapt over the flames and brought his hand down towards Bastiodon.

"Iron Defense!" Byron ordered and Bastiodon turned his Shield like face upwards as it glowed. He grunted as the doubly super effective hit struck him but Iron Defense enabled him to literally take the blow head on, "Metal Burst!" Bastiodon blasted Riolu way with the white light, causing twice the damage he had taken. Riolu rolled backwards along the ground several times before unsteadily getting up.

"You know the more resistant Bastiodon is to Riolu's attacks, the less damage Metal Burst will do," Harry pointed out.

"That's true," Byron conceded, "In that case let's go on the offensive Bastiodon! Iron Head." Bastiodon surrounded himself with white light and charged.

"Counter!" called Harry and Riolu glowed red. Bastiodon smashed into him and was thrown back but Byron already had his next move planned.

"Use Flamethrower!" Bastiodon quickly shot a stream of flames at Riolu who didn't have enough time to dodge. Riolu cried out with pain.

"Force Palm!"

"Iron Head!"

Both Pokemon collided and Riolu thrust his palm into Bastiodon's face. Despite Bastiodon having his full body weight behind Iron Head, the super effectiveness of Force Palm enabled Riolu to hold him off and the resulting explosion sent both Pokemon flying.

"Aura Sphere!" Harry ordered before Riolu had even landed. The Emanation Pokemon backflipped and formed the orb in mid-air, launching it as soon as his feet touched the ground.

"Ancient Power!" Byron countered. Once again Ancient Power proved just as effective for defense as it was for offense, blocking Aura Sphere before shooting towards Riolu. He was once again pounded by the rocks and fell on one knee, panting. Bastiodon was also breathing hard.

"Riolu Brick Break!"

"Iron Defense!" cried Byron and this time Bastiodon just smiled when Riolu slammed a Brick Break into his face. Although he was tired, this was his third Iron Defense so his resistance to Physical Attacks had been increased to the highest level. "Now Metal Burst!" The burst of white energy was relatively small this time but still strong enough to send Riolu skidding backwards.

Harry gritted his teeth. Bastiodon's Defense had been built up so much that Riolu's Physical Attacks weren't doing enough, despite being twice as effective as most super effective moves. Bastiodon's formidable Defence made up for his unfortunate typing and Aura Sphere wasn't powerful enough to break through his Ancient Power. Perhaps if Riolu was a Lucario it would be, but there had to be a way for Riolu to win without evolving.

Then Harry had an idea.

"Riolu get in close!" he ordered and Riolu charged towards Bastiodon. Byron laughed.

"Bastiodon's Defense has been built up too high, kid!" he said, "Iron Head!" Bastiodon charged straight towards Riolu who didn't even slow down.

"Jump on its back!" Harry instructed and Riolu jumped, dodging the Iron Head and flipping himself onto Bastiodon's back.

"Ancient Power!" yelled Byron as he realized what Harry was doing. Because Riolu was on his back, Bastiodon had to use Ancient Power on both of them but it barely bothered him and Riolu was strong enough to take it.

"Force Palm!" Harry yelled and Riolu slammed his palm onto Bastiodon's vulnerable shoulder blades. Bastiodon's face could onto protect him from frontal assaults. Once one got behind him or in this case on his back, he was vulnerable and even his Ancient Power hadn't been enough to stop the stubborn little Emanation Pokemon. Riolu released a blast of yellow energy and Bastiodon's legs gave out beneath him. The energy from Force Palm combined with the speed at which Bastiodon collided with the ground whipped up a cloud of dust.

When the dust settled, Riolu was standing on the unconscious Bastiodon's back.

"Bastiodon is unable to battle, Riolu wins!" announced the referee, "And that means the victor is Harry Rowan!"

"Yes!" Harry beamed as Riolu jumped of Bastiodon's back and crossed over to his trainer with a smile, "Great job Riolu. For a Rock and Steel type that Bastiodon put up one hell of a fight, didn't it?" Riolu nodded. The pair looked at Byron who beamed proudly at Bastiodon.

"Great work old friend," he said, "And well done on mastering using Metal Burst straight after an Iron Defense. You take a nice long rest." Bastiodon smiled weakly as the red light from his Poke Ball sucked him inside. Byron crossed over to Harry, "Well young man, you've certainly improved since the last time we battled. Keep this up and you'll be at the Pokemon League in no time," he held out the Mine Badge, "And this Mine Badge will help you get there."

"Thanks Byron," Harry took the badge and put it in his case. Riolu smiled as the pair left the Gym.


	42. Mount Coronet

Harry had to return to Mount Coronet in order to make his way to Snowpoint City. It took him a whole week to get to the mountain and after that he had to head north. Snowpoint City was in the far north of Sinnoh and it would take at least another week, probably two, for him to get there. And at least half of the journey through Mount Coronet involved travelling through the dark caves, so Harry often had to use Chimchar's backside to light the way.

Floatzel could now extend his Ice Fang like Crasher Wake's Floatzel but couldn't retract it, so he had to walk around with extended Ice Fangs until either Chimchar melted them or Leafeon cut them off with Leaf Blade. It was rather funny to see him walking around with massive fangs and Floatzel, being a good sport, laughed along with everyone else whenever this happened.

After spending five days trying to find their way through Mount Coronet, Harry, Riolu and Chimchar finally caught a glimpse of a small town from the edge of a cliff outside one of Mount Coronet's countless caves. The town was a couple of miles away but it was the first sign of civilisation Harry had seen since reaching Mount Coronet. Harry took out his map.

"Apparently that's Squallville," he muttered to Riolu and Chimchar, the latter of whom hopped onto his shoulder to look at the map. Harry looked up at the sun which was starting to set.

"Hey!" called a voice and Harry turned to see a young woman with shoulder length green hair and a Magneton floating besides her walking down the natural path on the cliff.

"Hello," Harry said then looked up Magneton curiously.

"Hello, my name's Mary," said the young woman.

"I'm Harry."

"Nice to meet you," Mary said, "I'm trying to evolve my Magneton so I'd like to challenge you to a battle."

"Okay," Harry said. Chimchar bounded eagerly off his shoulder. Harry scanned Magneton.

" _Magneton the Magnet Pokemon and evolved form of Magnemite. It can emit powerful magnetic and electric fields, giving it the ability to float and launch powerful Electric shocks._ "

"Could we go to a wider area?" asked Mary looking at the thin stretch of cliff.

"No need," Harry said confidently, "Magneton can levitate and Chimchar's a mountain dwelling Pokemon." He and Riolu took a few steps back so there was more space for Chimchar and Magneton to battle, "Chimchar Flamethrower!" Chimchar fired a stream of flames at Magneton.

"Magneton Flash Cannon!" cried Mary and Magneton formed a silver orb of energy in front of its body, before firing a silver beam from the orb which collided with Flamethrower creating an explosion.

"Flame Wheel!" Harry called and Chimchar somersaulted in the air and slammed her flame covered body into Magneton.

"Magneton Thunder Wave!" ordered Mary and Magneton shot blue sparks from the tips of its magnets which paralyzed Chimchar.

"Use Façade!" Harry called and Chimchar's body glowed gold before she slammed into Magneton.

"Façade may get stronger under a status condition but that doesn't change the fact that it's a Normal type move," Mary informed him, "Magneton Flash Cannon!" Magneton fired another Flash Cannon and Chimchar was blasted off the edge of the cliff. Harry realized that normally Chimchar would be in no danger of getting hurt by falling off a cliff, but right now she was paralyzed, so she wasn't as agile or athletic as usual. He quickly hurried to the cliff's edge.

"Chimchar!" he called and Chimchar scrabbled and managed to grip the wall. She hung there for a moment while the sparks from Thunder Wave surrounded her body.

Above her, Magneton started to evolve.

"Yes!" cried Mary triumphantly as Magneton formed into a Pokemon that looked like a flying saucer with a magnets on each side and on its back. Magnezone floated down towards Chimchar who was still clinging to the cliff face. Chimchar turned her head to look at her levitating opponent.

" _Magnezone the Magnet Area Pokemon and the final form of Magnemite._ _It evolves from Magneton due to exposure to a magnetic field. If two Magnezone meet the magnetism between them is so strong they attract each other so they cannot move_."

"Magnezone, help Chimchar up!" called Mary and Magnezone floated beneath Chimchar but she waved it away impatiently. She didn't need its help. Her species was biologically designed for mountain terrain and Thunder Wave wasn't going to change that. Ignoring the sparks around her body, Chimchar clambered back up to her trainer without Magnezone's help. Magnezone followed her up.

"Want to keep going?" asked Harry.

"Do you?" asked Mary. Harry glanced at Chimchar who nodded even as blue sparks surrounded her once more, "Alright then, Magnezone Flash Cannon!" Magnezone formed a silver orb in front of the red eye in the middle of its body, before firing a powerful blast of silver energy from the orb.

"Chimchar Counter Shield!" Harry called and Chimchar rolled into a Flame Wheel before shooting out Flamethrower to block Flash Cannon. There was an explosion but Counter Shield was successful and Chimchar smashed into Magnezone.

"Magnezone Thunderbolt!" cried Mary and Magnezone blasted Chimchar with a powerful bolt of electricity, "Now Hyper Beam." Magnezone formed a yellow orb of energy in front of the red eye in the middle of its body. Mary looked hopeful as Magnezone shot a yellow beam out of the orb which slammed into Chimchar and knocked her out, "Yes! You've finally mastered Hyper Beam!"

"Magnezone!" said Magnezone happily while Harry recalled Chimchar.

"Good work Chimchar, you get some rest," he said and looked at Mary, "Congratulations."

"Thanks for helping my Magneton evolve and master Hyper Beam," Mary said gratefully.

"No problem," Harry said. Mary waved happily as she and her newly evolved Pokemon left. Harry waved back then looked up at the setting sun, "Well we're not going to get to Squallville before nightfall, so I guess we'll just have to sleep in the caves."

"Riolu," Riolu nodded and smiled; before Professor Rowan found him, he'd always slept in caves.

* * *

Riolu woke up that night as he sensed another presense in the cave. He looked around then shook his trainer awake.

"Mm?" Harry woke up, "What is it?" Riolu was agitated. Harry stretched out with his extremely limited Aura sense and felt a presence very close by. It seemed very aggressive, "Uh oh."

"Bite!" roared the creature and a Gabite lunged out of the shadows at Riolu. It was quite simply a smaller version of Cynthia's Garchomp, but the notch in the fin on its back showed it was male.

Riolu rolled away from Gabite's Dragon Claw and the Dragon type Pokemon turned. It was difficult to see in the darkness but Riolu could sense his Aura and "see" him through that. Harry could feel Gabite's presence but not his exact location, so he sent out Chimchar to light up the area. The Gabite snarled. Harry sweat dropped. Gabite had a reputation for being territorial and on top of that, it was a predator. Harry hoped this Gabite was just territorial not hungry. He nervously scanned the creature.

" _Gabite the Cave Pokemon and evolved form of Gible._ _It uses Dig to expand its nest._ _There is a long-held belief that medicine made from its scales will heal even incurable illnesses_."

Gabite snarled at the intruders. Harry was nervous but also excited. He'd always wanted to have a Garchomp and Gabite was halfway there. While not as rare as Riolu, Chimchar or Spiritomb, Gabite wasn't a common Pokemon so Harry had to take this opportunity.

"Alright Gabite," he said, "I'm sorry but I have to catch you." Gabite snarled and shot a Dragonbreath from his mouth. Unlike the green flames used by non-Dragon types, this Dragonbreath consisted of white flames, "Riolu Aura Sphere!" Riolu quickly blocked the Dragonbreath with Aura Sphere and there was an explosion. Gabite lunged towards Riolu with his claws surrounded by blue, draconic energy, "Counter!"

"Lu," Riolu said and glowed red turning Gabite's own Dragon Claw against him. The Cave Pokemon roared angrily as Counter knocked him backwards.

"Use Brick Break!" called Harry and Riolu slammed a Brick Break onto Gabite's head, stunning him, "Go Poke Ball!" Gabite was sucked inside. The Poke Ball jerked once then burst open.

Gabite fired another Dragonbreath, but this time didn't seem to be aiming at any specific target. Apparently he just wanted them out of his cave. Harry, Riolu and Chimchar backed away and Harry briefly wondered if it was a good idea to try catching such a violent Pokemon. He reasoned that if he could control a Spiritomb he could control a Gabite.

"Riolu use Quick Attack!" Harry ordered and Riolu darted forwards, dodging each Dragonbreath and slamming into Gabite. The Cave Pokemon skidded back but struck Riolu with Dragon Claw sending him sprawling. Gabite then fired a Dragonbreath and Riolu screamed in pain as the white flames struck him, "Hang on! Copycat!"

"Rio. Lu," Riolu copied Dragonbreath and fired it right back at Gabite, even using white flames despite not being a Dragon type. Gabite used his fins to try and block the attack and Harry recalled Cynthia's Garchomp using the same strategy in most of her battles. Gabite's much smaller fins weren't nearly as powerful so the Dragonbreath still pushed him back against the cave wall. Riolu stopped and Harry threw another Poke Ball. This Poke Ball reached the second shake before Gabite busted his way out once again.

"You're a stubborn one," Harry noted, "Well Riolu and I can be stubborn too."

"Riolu," Riolu agreed and smirked at Gabite. Gabite looked at the smaller Pokémon, whom had been weakened by his Dragon type moves but was still standing and willing to fight. Gabite relished showing off his strength and it wasn't often that he encountered a worthy opponent or a trainer who was brave enough to try and catch him. Most of the cowards who entered his territory were driven off as they were quite simply not worth Gabite's time. However these intruders had stayed and Gabite admired that.

"Gabite!" Gabite said and although he had initially been trying to drive them out of the cave, he now beckoned to Riolu with a claw as if to say, "Come and have a go if you think you're tough enough!"

"So now you want us to stay?" Harry said, "Fine with us. Riolu use Quick Attack!" Riolu darted forwards and slammed into Gabite, before leaping backwards to avoid the anticipated Dragon Claw. Then Gabite simply slammed his entire body into Riolu with a Take Down attack. Riolu skidded along the ground before leaping back onto his feet. Gabite then used Dig and disappeared underground. Harry and Riolu both smirked. Riolu didn't need Harry to tell him what to do. He scanned for where Gabite was with Aura and sensed that he would come up behind him.

Gabite burst out of the ground behind Riolu and fired a Dragonbreath, hoping to catch him off guard. Riolu jumped, bounced off the cave wall and propelled himself back towards Gabite while the white flames hit the wall he had just jumped away from.

"Force Palm!" Harry yelled and Riolu thrust his palm into Gabite and the momentum created by bouncing off the wall shoved Gabite back a couple of feet before Riolu blasted him with the yellow energy. Gabite hit the cave wall so hard that his notched fin got stuck between two stones. Harry threw another Poke Ball. It shook three times.

Then Gabite burst out _again_. He was panting and exhausted but there was joyful light in his yellow eyes. He was really enjoying this. Gabite formed an orange ball of fire in his mouth and then fired Dragon Rage towards Riolu.

"Dodge and use Copycat!" cried Harry and Riolu leaped over the Dragon Rage whilst memorizing, mimicking and firing it from his own mouth. The Dragon Rage slammed into Gabite's fins and exploded. Riolu landed and he, Harry and Chimchar waited. There was no way Gabite could have taken that after all the previous damage.

Gabite was lying on the ground. Harry threw his Poke Ball. The ball shook three times and dinged to show Gabite had been successfully captured.

"Yes!" Harry said. Chimchar leapt onto his shoulder happily while Riolu picked up the ball and brought it back to his trainer, "That was brilliant, Riolu. Thank you." Harry took the Poke Ball from his smiling Starter Pokemon.

 **I'm a boy, QUEENSPELLER67. It's really kind of you to try and spread the word about my stories. Thank you.**


	43. PokeRinger

Harry reached Squallville the next morning. When he arrived on a cliff directly above the town, he saw a small battlefield with a goal that consisted of three hooks in the middle. There were small stands for an audience around the battlefield, although no audience was present right now. Two large hot air balloons and one smaller balloon between them were floating in the air. A Yanmega and Wingull seemed to be battling but Yanmega had a ring in its mouth and seemed to be aiming for the three hooked structure on the ground, only attacking Wingull in order to keep it out of the way.

"This looks interesting," Harry said and Riolu nodded. They watched as Yanmega successfully placed the ring on one of the hooks. Wingull looked rather disappointed. The two hot air balloons landed and the trainers met each other at the three hooked goal post. The youngest of the pair, the owner of Wingull, was snubbed by Yanmega's trainer and angrily ran off with his Pokemon.

"Harry!" called a voice and Harry turned around and saw Ash, Dawn and Brock approaching him.

"Hello," Harry said, "I wasn't expecting to see you guys here."

"We weren't expecting to see you here either," said Dawn.

"How did your contest go?" Harry asked. In answer, Dawn proudly showed him her fourth contest ribbon, "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Dawn said, "I just wish my Mamoswine was more interested in contests."

"So Piloswine learned Ancient Power," Harry said and Dawn nodded, "Is it still disobeying you?"

"A bit," Dawn admitted, "But at least it's not using Take Down on everything in its path anymore."

"Well it does keep hurting itself whenever it does that," Harry said.

"That's true," Dawn agreed.

"Have you ever played PokeRinger before, Harry?" asked Ash, looking down at the battlefield with the goal on it.

"So that's what Yanmega and Wingull were doing," Harry said, "And no I haven't. I think I know what to do from watching though. Your Pokemon grabs the ring and has to get it on one of the hooks."

"That's right," Brock nodded, "The first Pokemon to get the ring on the hook wins the match."

"Sounds fun," Harry said, "Vespiquen and Drifloon would enjoy that."

"There's a tournament today," said an emotionless voice. Paul walked past them and glanced at them very briefly before continuing towards the town.

"A tournament?" said Ash, "Are you entering?"

"Of course," Paul grunted without looking back, "That's why I'm here. Honchkrow needs to get stronger."

"Well I'll enter with Staravia then," Ash decided.

"And I'll go with Drifloon and Vespiquen," Harry said.

"You can only use one Pokémon, kid," Paul informed him, this time turning his head very slightly to look at Harry out of the corner of his eye. Harry wondered which of his Pokemon he should use if he couldn't use both.

* * *

In the end, Harry decided to use Drifloon. Vespiquen was already a very powerful flyer and battler and Drifloon, although not a weak Pokemon, wasn't very experienced at fighting high in the air. Harry was hoping that this competition would help her become stronger. He tried not to think about the fact that Paul was essentially doing the same thing with Honchkrow. The difference was that Harry wanted Drifloon to enjoy herself as well as become a better airborne battler.

The stadium was packed with people. Harry felt the familiar nerves he had whenever there were a lot of people around him. Thanks to his experiences in the Tag Battle Competition and the Wallace Cup, they weren't as bad as they used to be but still caused his stomach to churn.

His first opponent was Paul. Harry was silently cursing his luck for being paired with him in the first round. Drifloon certainly wasn't going to have any fun against Paul's Honchkrow.

"Drifloon take your position!" Harry sent out the Balloon Pokemon who spun in the air. She wasn't so joyful when she saw her opponent.

"Honchkrow stand by for battle!" Paul sent out Honchkrow who smirked at Drifloon, "Get the ring!"

"Drifloon grab the ring!" Harry called. Drifloon and Honckrow flew up towards the balloon carrying the ring. Honchkrow easily got there first as a small gust of wind blew Drifloon off course. Honchkrow turned and dived towards the goal, "Drifloon Acrobatics!" Drifloon darted towards Honchkrow, leaving behind two after-images but the wind blew her off course again and she squealed in alarm, missing Honchkrow by at least two meters. Honchkrow didn't even glance at her as he headed for the goal. "Rapid Fire Shadow Ball, quick!"

"Floon, Floon, Floon, Floon, Floon!" Drifloon cried, firing five Shadow Balls at Honchkrow who was now about five meters from the goal. Honchkrow was hit by two of the five Shadow Balls and knocked off course. The ring flew out of his beak.

"Drifloon get the ring!" Harry shouted and Drifloon flew as fast as she could but squealed in frustration as another gust of wind blew her away. Honchkrow flew up and grabbed the ring before flying towards the goal, "Ominous Wind!"

"Drifloon!" Drifloon was now positioned between Honchkrow and the goal but unfortunately Ominous Wind barely even slowed Honchkrow down.

"Night Slash!" Paul called out his first command in the match and Honchkrow's wings glowed purple. Harry thought fast.

"Minimize then Constrict!" he hollered and Drifloon shrank beneath Honchkrow's wing, manoeuvred behind it and wrapped both arms around the Big Boss Pokemon's neck, jerking its head backwards. She slapped at Honchkrow's beak desperately – they were dangerously close to the goal – and managed to knock the ring so that it landed on the battlefield. Honchkrow was struggling to throw Drifloon off but her Constrict was nearly choking the Big Boss Pokemon.

"Night Slash!" yelled Paul and Honchkrow started flailing its purple wings around but Drifloon's position made it impossible for it to land a blow. Then the wind blew.

"Let go and get the ring!" ordered Harry and Drifloon released her hold and allowed the wind to blow her towards the ring lying on the ground. She scooped it up with one arm but when she turned, she found Honchkrow between her and goal with an angry look in its eyes.

"Aerial Ace!" ordered Paul and Honchkrow darted forwards, surrounding itself with white streaks and smashing into Drifloon, who was thrown backwards and the ring went flying into the air, "Get it!" Honchkrow flew after the ring and caught it with its beak. Drifloon turned. Now that she was closer to the ground, she didn't have to worry so much about the wind as the stands shielded her.

"Rapid Fire Shadow Ball!" ordered Harry and Drifloon launched five Shadow Balls again.

"Dodge it!" ordered Paul and Honchkrow dodged all five balls, "Aerial Ace!" Once again Honchkrow surrounded itself with white streaks and smirked as it shot towards Drifloon.

"Ominous Wind!" Harry shouted and Drifloon tried to stop Honchkrow with Ominous Wind but the Big Boss Pokemon barely even slowed down. From her position, Drifloon couldn't actually see Honchkrow's approach but she knew it was coming due to its resistance to Ghost type moves.

Then Drifloon glowed white, still spinning and using Ominous Wind even as she evolved. Honchkrow cancelled its Aerial Ace as the white light dazzled it and the Ominous Wind blew it backwards, not exactly hurting but causing discomfort. Drifloon grew larger and developed four arms much thicker than the string like arms she's had before. When the glow faded the newly evolved Drifblim stopped her Ominous Wind and faced Honchkrow again.

"Alright!" Harry shouted, "Use Acrobatics, Drifblim!"

"Blim!" cried Drifblim and shot forwards, slamming into Honchkrow before reaching up with one of her four arms and sliding it through the ring. She turned to the goal but Paul wasn't finished yet.

"Dark Pulse!" he ordered and Honchkrow blasted Drifblim with black rings, knocking her away from the goal, "Now use Haze!" Honchkrow flew forwards so that it was between Drifblim and her target and shot a dark fog from its beak.

"Blow that away with Ominous Wind!" Harry called and Drifblim used a much stronger Ominous Wind to blow away the smoke. Despite Ominous Wind's increased power however Honchkrow flew straight at her as if it was a light breeze.

"Night Slash!" cried Paul and Honchkrow slashed Drifblim with one of its wings before catching the ring in its talons.

"Keep Honchkrow away from that goal!" Harry ordered, "Rapid Fire Shadow Ball!" Drifblim hastily fired multiple Shadow Balls and Honchkrow dodged them but had to get further away from the goal in order to do so. "Acrobatics!" Drifblim shot after Honchkrow and smashed into it before slipping an arm through the ring again. She turned to the goal.

Then the wind blew.

Harry had thought that by evolving, Drifblim's greater weight would enable her to move around easily in the wind. However Drifblim was still similar to a balloon, so the wind affected her trajectory and blew her off course, although she managed to hold onto the ring. If Drifblim had been closer to the ground, it wouldn't have bothered her but ordering her to fly up towards Honchkrow and physically hit it with Acrobatics had been a mistake. She now had no stands, or anything else for that matter, to shield her from the wind.

"Go after it Honchkrow!" ordered Paul and Honchkrow flew towards Drifblim who struggled to regain her composure, "Sky Attack!"

"Get to the goal!" called Harry. Honchkrow charged up Sky Attack and lunged to intercept Drifblim. Drifblim was a meter from the goal when Honchkrow smashed into her, sending her skidding along the ground. Honchkrow neatly caught the ring in its beak and put it on the hook before looking down at its defeated opponent smugly.

"Goal!" cried Rhonda the commentator. The crowd cheered as Paul was confirmed as the victor.

Once Harry and Paul were on the ground, Harry went to Drifblim who was regaining consciousness. When she remembered what had happened, she was devastated. She had evolved and done her best but like Grotle before her, evolving in a battle with Honchkrow hadn't made any difference.

"I'm sorry, Drifblim," Harry said and Drifblim looked up in surprise, not understanding why her trainer was apologising, "I should have trained you to be able to move around in strong winds. Ever since I met you, you've always had problems flying when it's windy. I just ignored the problem and kept you close to the ground in battle, rather than training you to move around high up in the sky."

"Drifblim," Drifblim said and wrapped two of her new arms around her trainer. Paul scoffed as he walked past them.

"Pathetic," he said.

Ash and Paul made it through the rest of the tournament and found themselves facing each other in the final round. Harry had joined Dawn and Brock in the stands. Brock had suggested that Harry teach Drifblim to use Tailwind, so that she could move around more easily when she was high in the sky. Harry decided to start training Drifblim to learn that move the following day, as the PokeRinger competition had lasted until late afternoon and Drifblim was too worn out for training right now.

"We're now onto the final round!" called Rhonda, "So let's get this underway!"

"Staravia I choose you!" yelled Ash and Staravia burst out of his Poke Ball.

"Honchkrow stand by for battle!" Paul sent out Honchkrow who smirked confidently at Staravia. The two Pokemon flew towards the ring without even being told to do so by their trainers. Honchkrow got there first and grabbed the ring in its beak before diving down towards the goal.

"Staravia use Quick Attack!" ordered Ash and Staravia increased his speed and slammed into Honchkrow causing it to drop the ring. Staravia quickly seized it in his beak and continued towards the goal.

"Aerial Ace!" ordered Paul and Honchkrow surrounded itself with white streaks and slammed into Staravia from behind. The ring went flying out of Staravia's beak, "Now get the ring!"

"Staravia use Quick Attack to catch it first," Ash ordered and thanks to Quick Attack, Staravia got there first and grabbed the ring again in his beak.

"Dark Pulse!" Honchkrow fired black rings from its beak.

"Dodge it and use Aerial Ace!" called Ash and Staravia quickly flew up to dodge Dark Pulse before circling back around and diving towards Honchkrow.

"Use Aerial Ace too!" Paul ordered and Honchkrow intercepted Staravia's Aerial Ace with one of its own. Both Pokemon bounced off each other, "Dark Pulse!" This time Honchkrow's Dark Pulse scored a direct hit and Staravia dropped the ring. Honchkrow caught it.

"Use Brave Bird!" Staravia tucked in his wings and glowed red before spreading his wings again and turning blue.

"Sky Attack!" ordered Paul and Honchkrow turned around and the two Pokemon collided. Honchkrow was the stronger of the two of them and Staravia was sent flying, wincing as the recoil damage kicked in. Honchkrow flew towards the goal again.

"Quick Attack!" ordered Ash and Staravia shot after Honchkrow, then dived with astonishing precision, plucking the ring right out of Honchkrow's beak, "Great now get to the goal."

"Don't let it escape! Dark Pulse!" Paul roared and Honchkrow fired Dark Pulse. It missed but Staravia rose up slightly away from the goal. Honchkrow quickly flew underneath him then circled back around, "Aerial Ace!" Honchkrow smashed into Staravia and sent him tumbling to the ground. The ring landed behind him. Staravia reached out and grabbed it with one of his talons, "Finish it with Sky Attack!"

"Hooonchkrow!" cried Honchkrow and glowed white as he dived at Staravia. Although Staravia had retrieved the ring, he had taken a lot of damage.

"Staravia use Quick Attack to dodge!" Ash yelled and Staravia shot upwards and Honchkrow flew underneath him before turning as Staravia started to evolve.

"Staravia too?" gasped Dawn.

"Staravia's evolving but there's still no guarantee Ash can win," Harry said, "That Honchkrow has a knack for beating Pokemon when they evolve in a battle with it."

Above them, a Staraptor hovered in the place where Staravia had been. The amount of time he took to evolve was short but long enough for Honchkrow to catch up with him. The two Flying types glared at each other. Harry took out his pokedex.

" _Staraptor the Predator Pokemon and final form of Starly. After evolving from Staravia, a Staraptor will leave its flock and live on its own. It courageously challenges foes much larger than itself._ "

"This makes no difference," Paul said to Ash dismissively, "Use Night Slash!" Honchkrow's wings glowed purple as it lunged at Staraptor.

"Dodge it!" ordered Ash and Staraptor ducked underneath Honchkrow and dived.

"Aerial Ace!" ordered Paul and Honchkrow circled around and slammed into Staraptor, causing him to drop the ring again. As Honchkrow flew towards it though, Staraptor caught up and started pounding it with his wings, beak and talons, "What!"

"Staraptor's learned Close Combat!" Brock explained.

"So not only did Staravia evolve, he learned a new move too," Harry said, now feeling that the odds were in Ash's favour. Honchkrow had defeated Grotle and Drifblim, even though they evolved whilst battling it but against Grotle it had help from Weavile, type advantage and far greater Speed, while against Drifblim it had type advantage and had been able to use the wind to its advantage while the Blimp Pokemon could not. Furthermore neither Grotle nor Drifblim had learned a new move straight after their evolution.

"Staraptor get that ring!" ordered Ash and Staraptor relented his fierce assault on Honchkrow and grabbed the ring.

"Sky Attack!"

"Brave Bird!"

Both Pokemon flew towards each other and there was an explosion, considerably larger than the last one. The ring came flying out of the explosion followed very quickly by Honchkrow. Staraptor followed but was completely exhausted by now and couldn't keep up with Honchkrow. The Big Boss Pokemon took a quick look back at him and smirked before increasing its speed.

"Quick Attack and hit that ring!" yelled Ash and Staraptor's eyes filled with determination. With his last ounce of strength, he increased his speed with Quick Attack, got beside Honchkrow and slapped the ring with his wing sending it flying. Staraptor had aimed the strike perfectly and the ring landed on one of the three hooks.

"Goal!" screamed Rhonda and the crowd exploded into applause, "And that means our winner of this years PokeRinger Competition is Ash Ketchum!"

"Yes!" Dawn leapt up in her seat, "Ash did it! He finally beat Paul!"

"And Staraptor broke Honchkrow's winning streak against Pokemon that just evolved," Brock said approvingly. Staraptor landed on the ground, exhausted and Honchkrow hovered above him, looking extremely annoyed. Then it flew down and landed in front of Paul. He glared at it, said something which nobody could hear over the roaring of the crowd and recalled Honchkrow, who stared at the ground as if ashamed of itself.

"Wonder what he said to it?" Dawn muttered.

"Something mean I expect," Harry said.

Ash was given honorary citizenship into Squallville and a huge supply of Pokemon food. Paul just left without congratulating Ash on his victory. Nobody really cared though. The fact that Ash had scored his first victory over Paul, even if it was in PokeRinger rather than a proper battle, had delighted him and his friends.


	44. Disobedience

Harry, Ash, Dawn and Brock decided to travel the rest of the way to Snowpoint City together. Before leaving Squallville, Harry rotated his Pokemon so that his team consisted of Gabite, Drifblim, Eevee, Leafeon, Floatzel and Riolu. Floatzel was still working on his Ice Fang but still couldn't retract the fangs after extending them.

When the group stopped for lunch, Harry released Gabite to introduce him to the others. He hadn't actually told his friends that he's caught Gabite so they were all surprised.

"Harry, when did you catch Gabite?" Brock asked.

"The day before the PokeRinger contest," Harry said, "Gabite, these are my friends." Gabite looked around at them, then grunted dismissively.

"How about we bring out our Pokemon to say hi?" Ash suggested and he Dawn and Brock released their Pokemon. Harry released the four of his that were still in their Poke Balls. Gabite snarled, not used to being surrounded by so many Pokemon. They all greeted him enthusiastically.

"Bite," Gabite said coldly, glaring around at all of them. The only one who was oblivious to the glare was Eevee, who bounded forwards and rubbed against him. Gabite snarled at her, warning her back. Eevee backed off looking hurt. Leafeon jumped up beside his sister.

"Leaf, Leafeon!" he growled. Gabite smirked slightly and bared his teeth and claws. Leafeon took a fighting stance but Eevee put a paw on his shoulder and shook her head. Leafeon relaxed. Gabite looked disappointed.

"This is like when we first introduced Buizel to our other Pokemon," Ash said.

"Gabite, these guys are just saying hello," Harry said, "The least you could do is be civil." Gabite grunted and turned away before looking up at Drifblim who was floating above him.

"Maybe we should just let Gabite get used to us," Brock suggested.

"Okay," Harry agreed, "Besides me and Drifblim need to get to work on Tailwind."

Gabite watched as Drifblim tried using Tailwind to change her trajectory whenever the wind blew. It wasn't working. Losing interest, Gabite caught the eye of Dawn's Mamoswine. An Ice type could be an interesting opponent. Gabite beckoned to Mamoswine with one claw.

"Uh guys," Brock said and suddenly Mamoswine and Gabite had slammed into each other with their respective Take Down's. Despite Mamoswine's significantly greater size, it was unable to overpower Gabite and in the end the pair retreated due to recoil damage.

"Mamoswine, cut it out!" cried Dawn.

"Stop it, Gabite!" Harry shouted. Mamoswine formed an Ice Shard and shot it at Gabite who leapt over it and descended with his claw glowing. Mamoswine took the Dragon Claw head on and thrust up with its tusks, knocking Gabite away. Harry and Dawn jumped between them, "Enough!"

"Stop!" cried Dawn. Mamoswine looked at her, then snorted slightly. Gabite snarled at Harry threateningly. Riolu stepped between the pair of them.

"What the hell was that for!?" Harry yelled at Gabite. Gabite grunted and stalked away. Harry ran a hand through his hair and glanced at Riolu. Riolu nodded and followed Gabite. Harry looked up at Drifblim, "How are you doing, Drifblim?"

"Blim!" Drifblim tried to spin in the air but was blown sideways by a gust of wind. She managed to create a brief gust behind her to alter her trajectory but the Tailwind petered out almost instantly.

"Keep practicing," Harry said.

* * *

Riolu found Gabite trying to use Dragon Rush. Gabite didn't notice him as he surrounded himself with blue energy which petered out before he hit a rock. Gabite groaned in pain from the impact but backed away from the rock and tried again. Once more the blue energy petered out before impact. As powerful as Gabite was, he obviously hadn't gotten the hang of Dragon Rush yet.

"Riolu," Riolu said, getting Gabite's attention. Gabite scowled at him and waved one of his fins. Riolu moved back but instead of leaving he sat on a rock and watched Gabite continue practicing Dragon Rush.

Then there was a thunderous roar. Riolu leapt off the rock and Gabite looked up eagerly. Then he dived underground and burrowed his way towards wherever the roar had come from.

* * *

"Did you hear that?" asked Dawn looking up at the sound of the roar.

"Uh oh," said Brock, "That sounded like a Tyranitar. They're really territorial."

"Drifblim," Harry said, "Go and check on Gabite and Riolu." Drifblim was about to obey when Riolu returned to the clearing, gesturing wildly. Pikachu hurried forwards and Riolu explained to him that Gabite had run off towards what the group assumed to be a Tyranitar.

"Come on, we need to find Gabite," Ash said and the group recalled all their Pokemon except those who normally stayed out of their Poke Balls and Drifblim who acted as a scout.

Gabite was locked in the middle of battle with Tyranitar when the group found him. While Tyranitar was roaring violently, Gabite seemed to be enjoying himself.

" _Tyranitar the Armor Pokemon and the final form of Larvitar. When angry it is capable of destroying the area around it with devastating Earthquakes which can cause landslides._ "

"Gabite, stop provoking Tyranitar!" Harry yelled. Gabite glanced back at him and his moment of distraction caused him to get hit by Tyranitar's Dragon Claw. Then Tyranitar used its huge tail to thrust itself into the air, jumping to an incredible height for such a huge Pokemon. It smashed its whole weight onto the ground when it landed, summoning the most powerful Earthquake anyone in the group had ever experienced.

Unfortunately they were still in a mountainous area. The Earthquake knocked everyone off their feet and suddenly rocks were tumbling towards them from the cliffs around them.

"Gabite return!" Harry quickly recalled the stunned Gabite, "Drifblim help!" Drifblim grabbed him and Riolu and lifted them safely above the landslide.

"Gliscor, Staraptor lift us up!" yelled Ash quickly letting out Gliscor and Staraptor. Gliscor lifted Ash and Staraptor lifted Brock. However the Flying types could only lift one person and small Pokemon at a time which meant Dawn was still in the path of the landslide.

"Dawn!" Harry yelled. Dawn was frozen in terror as she looked up at the landslide, which was falling around the Tyranitar. The Armor Pokemon didn't seem fazed by the huge boulders, casually knocking a few away with swipes of its huge tail.

Suddenly Mamoswine burst out of its Poke Ball and started using Dig, glancing urgently at its trainer as it burrowed into the ground using its tusks and front feet. Dawn realized what the Twin Tusk Pokemon was doing and she and Piplup hastily followed it underground. A massive boulder thumped down on the hole but was too big to actually go inside, even though Mamoswine was a big Pokemon who could create big holes.

"No!" cried Ash. The Tyranitar looked up at them. It was terrifying to witness the creature stand casually amongst massive boulders as they tumbled around it. Unlike Dawn, Tyranitar was clearly in no danger of being buried alive or outright crushed. The only indication it gave of even being aware of the landslide were a few swipes of its tail to knock away the larger boulders.

Tyranitar glared at the airborne trainers and their Pokemon. Staraptor, Gliscor and Drifblim all backed away not wanting to make the dangerous beast even angrier. Tyranitar snarled at them and the Flying types made a hasty retreat. Thinking that the intruders would know better than to stay in its territory after witnessing what it was capable of, Tyranitar stomped away as the landslide stopped, smashing rocks aside effortlessly as it went.

The three Flying types actually hadn't gone very far but were using what few trees were still standing and the new, unstable mini-mountain Tyranitar had created to hide from the mighty beast. Riolu scanned Tyranitar's Aura and waited until the Aura grew very faint. Once he was satisfied that Tyranitar was at least a quarter of a mile away, he nodded to Harry.

"It's gone," Harry said, "Drifblim, we need to go back and find Dawn." Drifblim bobbed up and down and carried him back. Gliscor and Staraptor followed and the three Flying types set Ash, Brock and Harry down on top of the landslide. Riolu scanned around with Aura.

"Riolu!" he said, "Rio!"

"Dawn made it?" asked Harry hopefully and Riolu nodded, "Thank Arceus."

"The question is how we're going to get to her?" asked Brock, "None of our Pokemon can Dig through solid stone."

"I wish one of us had a Steelix," muttered Harry, remembering the one that crushed a boulder with Crunch on Iron Island. Brock and Ash both grimaced. Harry wasn't sure why, not knowing that Brock actually _did_ have a Steelix but had left it at home.

"Riolu!" said Riolu, pointing further ahead.

"Mamoswine must still be digging so it can get Dawn above ground in a safe location," Harry said.

"What do you know," Ash said, "Mamoswine actually does care about Dawn."

"There was never any indication that it didn't," Brock said, "It just doesn't like listening to her." The group followed Riolu, who continued tracking Mamoswine's movements. It wasn't as easy as usual as there was a huge pile of rocks between them and the ground, in addition to the earth _beneath_ the rocks that separated them from Dawn, Piplup and Mamoswine, but Riolu was able to keep track of them.

"People are going to find it much harder to come through this area now," muttered Harry and the others nodded.

"Someone's going to need to draw a new map of this place," Brock said, "I always assumed the damage a Tyranitar's Earthquake can cause was exaggerated. Obviously not." He gestured around the rocky terrain. The boulders often shifted underneath them and only Riolu was able to walk across them with complete confidence. Their Flying types still followed them through the air, scanning around for any sign of Dawn and her Pokemon.

It was a relief to reach stable ground once more. Riolu scanned around but the Tyranitar must be a safe distance away because he couldn't sense it at all. If he was a Lucario he could "see" further away with Aura but at least Tyranitar wasn't close by.

They found Dawn covered in soil and hugging Mamoswine's right tusk gratefully.

"Thank you, Mamoswine," she said, "You save my life." Mamoswine looked a bit awkward but smiled.

"Dawn!" called Ash and the three boys hurried over to her.

"Oh, I'm such a mess," cried Dawn, flushing.

"What do you expect? You just had to travel half a mile underground," Harry pointed out.

"Is there a stream of something nearby?" Dawn asked, looking at her filthy clothes.

"There's a simpler way of doing it," Ash said and smirked, "Buizel, Water Gun!" He let Buizel out and the Sea Weasel Pokemon squirted Dawn with Water Gun. She squealed and Ash and Harry laughed. Brock frowned at them while Dawn scowled.

"Very mature guys," she said, "Now I'm freezing!"

"Monferno give her some heat," Ash let out Monferno who offered his tail to Dawn. She got closer so that she could dry her soaked clothes.

While Dawn was drying herself with Monferno's tail, Harry walked away and let out Gabite. He scowled at the Cave Pokemon.

"Gabite your recklessness nearly got Dawn killed!" he said angrily, "Why did you have to go and pick a fight with that Tyranitar?"

"Gabite, Gabite," Gabite replied and looked around, hoping to find the Tyranitar in the area.

"If you want to battle you can just battle one of our Pokemon," Harry said, "You don't have to challenge a creature that can cause landslides! Don't you even care that Dawn was nearly crushed?" Gabite looked at Dawn, who now seemed no worse for the wear, albeit still a bit dirty and muddy.

"Bite, Gabite," he said, gesturing to Dawn with a claw to show Harry that she was alright.

"She's only alive because of her Mamoswine," Harry said, "You were stupid and careless!" Gabite wasn't used to being spoken to like this and he didn't like it one bit. He snarled threateningly at his trainer. Harry resisted the urge to step backwards. Although Luxray had a similar attitude when Harry tried to get him to work together with Drapion, he still wasn't used to his Pokemon being aggressive towards him. And Gabite was new to his team so all Harry really knew about him was that he loved to battle. He wasn't sure how far the Cave Pokemon would go if someone hurt his pride.

"Gabite, you don't have to pick fights with everything that moves," he said. Gabite raised an eyebrow and gestured behind him at Riolu, who was moving towards them. Harry looked at Riolu and rolled his eyes at Gabite, "Don't be pedantic." Gabite smirked then gestured at Mamoswine.

"Gabite!" he said and suddenly sprang over Harry's head in a single leap. Evidently he had no more interest in listening to his trainer's scolding. Mamoswine saw Gabite and lumbered forwards. Harry sighed.

"Dawn, Gabite obviously wants to battle Mamoswine," he said, "Is that okay with you?"

"Okay," Dawn said, "Mamoswine use Ice Shard!" Mamoswine formed a ball of ice between its tusks and fired it at Gabite.

"Dodge it!" Harry called. Gabite did so but by using Dig, which wasn't exactly what Harry had commanded. He shrugged it off as Gabite burst out underneath Mamoswine and threw the larger Pokemon backwards, "Gabite use…" Gabite didn't wait for him to finish his command. Instead he just slammed into Mamoswine with Take Down.

"Knock it away!" cried Dawn and Mamoswine thrust Gabite into the air with its tusks, "Alright use…" Mamoswine charged at Gabite using a Take Down of its own. Gabite righted himself in mid-air and blasted Mamoswine with Dragon Rage stopping the Twin Tusk Pokemon in the middle of its Take Down, "I was going to say Ice Shard, Mamoswine!" Mamoswine grunted but fired Ice Shard at Gabite.

"Gabite Dig!" Harry ordered but this time Gabite jumped over the Ice Shard. Harry had a feeling Gabite was deliberately ignoring his commands. Gabite slashed towards Mamoswine with Dragon Claw. Mamoswine thrust up with its tusks and this time they glowed with icy energy. Gabite was no match for the Ice Fang attack and was knocked to the ground on his back.

"Mamoswine learned Ice Fang!" Brock said.

"Looks more like Ice Tusk to me," Ash said.

"There's no such move," Brock replied.

"That was great, Mamoswine!" called Dawn. Mamoswine glanced back at her, "Okay are you thinking of Take Down?" Mamoswine nodded, "Then use it!" Mamoswine charged while Gabite was picking himself up. The Take Down send Gabite crashing into a rock that the Tyranitar had brought down during the landslide. Harry sighed and recalled Gabite before looking at the Poke Ball sadly.

"Well Mamoswine listened to you much better than Gabite listened to me," he said.

"You're going to have to work to gain Gabite's respect," Ash told him, "I had to do the same with my Charizard and Dawn's still working on earning Mamoswine's full respect."

"You've already experienced disobedience with Spiritomb, Harry," Brock added.

"That was different," Harry said, "Spiritomb never disobeyed me just for the sake of disobeying me. He only disobeyed me when Pikachu was around, until the Wallace Cup."

"Good point," Brock admitted, "Well you'll just have to spend time with Gabite and get to know him, like you got to know your other Pokemon. Since Gabite loves to battle, you should let him do that a lot."

"But what if he doesn't obey me?" asked Harry.

"Well you can't _not_ use him in battle because that's obviously his passion," Brock explained, "You'll just have to be patient."

"Like I'm being with Mamoswine," Dawn said cheerfully and rubbed Mamoswine's tusk fondly. The large creature grunted then lumbered away to gorge itself on some berries.


	45. Eevee's Choice

As the group got closer to Snowpoint City, the climate got colder. The humans had to buy warmer clothes from a small village as they got closer to their destination. Despite this the cold, it was a fairly pleasant journey apart from Harry having to deal with his disobedient Gabite, who was almost constantly in a bad mood.

Meanwhile Dawn's Mamoswine was obeying her most of the time and only occasionally showed signs of disobedience when it was in a bad mood. Naturally Mamoswine loved the cold and was having the time of its life in this environment. Another Pokemon who was enjoying herself was Eevee who loved the snow and often played around in it with Mamoswine.

Harry continued training Drifblim who was getting more skilled at manipulating the wind around her in order to change direction. However powerful gusts could still knock her off course. Harry's Floatzel also mastered extending and retracting his Ice Fang.

"Do you think it's always cold this far north?" asked Harry one day.

"Most of the time," said Dawn, "Zoey said they have short summers up here. It's fitting that her friend Candice specializes in Ice types."

"The Gym Leader?" Harry guessed and Dawn nodded.

"I've never actually met her," she said, "But Zoey mentioned her a couple of times."

"Well you'll meet her in person when we get there," Harry said, "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to do some more training with Drifblim. She's nearly got the hang of Tailwind but this weather's making it harder for her."

* * *

Drifblim did master Tailwind eventually and could now move wherever she wanted with ease, even though the winds were getting stronger. Brock thought that they would be hit by a blizzard before long and they were hoping to get to Snowpoint City before it hit.

They didn't.

When the blizzard hit the group recalled almost all of their Pokemon, including Riolu and Piplup. Only Pikachu remained outside his Poke Ball, clinging to Ash's shoulder as the group forced their way through the blizzard.

"We need to find shelter!" yelled Brock over the howling wind.

"No arguments here!" Harry yelled back, "The question is where?"

Then they heard a musical cry. Squinting against the blizzard they looked up and saw a shape flying overhead. It was some kind of bird but they couldn't make out any details. Ash and Brock however knew exactly what it was.

"That's an Articuno!" Ash said. Harry stared at him. The creature was little more than a shadow at the moment but Ash had spoken with utter certainty.

"How do you know?" Harry asked.

"Because I battled one in the Battle Frontier and saw one in the Orange Islands," Ash replied.

The shape got closer and the group started to make out its features. Articuno was a large blue bird with a long flowing tail and a crest of dark blue feathers. It was one of the most beautiful Pokemon any of them had ever seen.

Articuno landed in front of the freezing group with its wings spread. It let out a soft cry and then jerked its head, indicating that they follow it. The group obeyed and Articuno flew low overhead so that the blizzard didn't block it out.

"Do you think Articuno's causing this blizzard?" asked Harry.

"Well it's smaller than Noland's Articuno," Brock said, "My guess is that it's quite young and doesn't have full control of its powers yet."

Eventually Articuno landed and gestured with a wing towards a small cave. The group stumbled towards it. Once they were inside they turned to the Legendary Bird. Harry scanned Articuno with his pokedex.

" _Articuno the Freeze Pokemon. A species so rare and powerful that it is considered Legendary, Articuno is said to appear to people who are lost in the mountains during freezing blizzards._ "

"Well that's certainly true," Harry said and looked up at Articuno. It was still looking at the pokedex with a childlike curiosity so Harry showed it the picture of itself that was on the screen. Articuno nudged it gently with its beak. Harry couldn't believe he was so close to the Legendary Pokemon, "Thanks for saving us, Articuno."

"Yeah," Dawn said and reached out cautiously. Articuno allowed her to put her gloved hand on its chest feathers. Harry did the same, "You showed up just in time. Thank you." Articuno nodded then spread its wings. Understanding that it was about to leave, Harry and Dawn stepped back. Articuno let out a cry of farewell, and flew away into the blizzard.

Harry and Dawn stood at the mouth, which partially shielded them from the blizzard. They stared out even though they couldn't see Articuno anymore. Ash and Brock had already gone around a corner and further into the cave, not as awestruck by Articuno's presence as their younger companions due to their previous experiences with the Legendary Pokemon.

"That's the first time I've ever seen a Legendary Pokemon," Harry commented.

"It took you this long?" Dawn teased, "I saw one on my first day as a trainer."

"Me too," Ash said, returning from around the corner, "I saw Ho-Oh. By the way you guys might want to see this!"

"We've just seen an Articuno, Ash!" Harry replied, "I doubt whatever's back there is more interesting than that." Nonetheless he and Dawn followed Ash around the corner.

The chamber was completely made of ice. In the middle of the room was a beautiful Ice Rock that glowed like crystals. Brock was laying out their sleeping mats and Monferno was using his tail flame to heat the place up. Harry sent out Chimchar and Leafeon.

"Leafeon we need more heat," he said, "Sunny Day." Leafeon nodded and shot a beam from his head leaf into the air. A small sun appeared above the Ice Rock, making the cave a bit warmer. Despite that, the ice around the walls as well as the Ice Rock in the middle showed no signs of melting.

"You know," Ash said, "This must be the rock May used to evolve her Eevee."

"You're right," Harry realized, then looked at Eevee's Poke Ball, "Okay Eevee come on out." Eevee burst out of the ball and stared around the cave in wonder. She was especially fascinated by the Ice Rock, "Eevee if you touch that rock, you'll evolve into Glaceon."

"Eevee!" Eevee said gleefully and bounded towards the rock.

"Wait!" Harry called and Leafeon quickly blocked his sister's path. Eevee looked at her brother then her trainer in confusion, "Eevee, once you touch that rock, there's no going back. You'll be a Glaceon for the rest of your life."

"Eevee?" Eevee said, which Harry interpreted as something like "So what?"

"Are you sure you want to be a Glaceon?" Harry asked, "You could be a Leafeon like your brother." Eevee looked at her brother and shook her head. Harry took out his pokedex, "Come here." Eevee obeyed and Harry showed her the other Eeveelutions she could evolve into.

"Eevee," Eevee murmured as she examined each one.

"As well as Glaceon and Leafeon, you could become a Water type Vaporeon, an Electric type Jolteon, a Fire type Flareon, a Dark type Umbreon and a Psychic type Espeon," Harry told her, showing her each Eeveelution. Aside from Glaceon, Eevee also showed interest in Vaporeon, admiring its beautiful, mermaid like tail, "Do you want to be a Vaporeon?"

"Eevee," Eevee said uncertainly and looked between Glaceon and Vaporeon, trying to decide. "Eevee, Eev," she said and looked at Leafeon.

Although she liked to think of herself as independent, the truth was Eevee still needed Leafeon. She'd spent her entire life with him and the decision she made in this cave could change her life forever. She needed his approval on this. Leafeon looked between the Ice Rock and his baby sister. Then he went over to Harry and took a look at the Eeveelutions himself.

"Leafeon," he said and looked at Eevee. This was her decision, not his. He stepped back and cleared Eevee's path to the Ice Rock. Eevee hesitated.

"You know we're going to be here until this blizzard clears up," Brock said, "Eevee doesn't have to decide right now." Harry nodded.

"Think this through carefully, Eevee," he said, "Don't rush this decision okay?" Eevee nodded. Harry got into his sleeping sack and so did his friends. Sunny Day, which Leafeon kept renewing whenever it wore off, Chimchar and Monferno kept them warm but the ground was still hard and uncomfortable. However they managed to drift off to sleep.

Eevee thought very carefully about her evolution. Leafeon was happy in his evolved form, but Eevee also liked the look of Vaporeon. Harry didn't have a Water Stone but he could get one. On the other hand Eevee had been interested in May's Glaceon. She thought Glaceon was more beautiful than Vaporeon but she wasn't shallow enough to choose her evolution based on looks alone.

She glanced at her tail and imagined having the long, mermaid like tail of a Vaporeon. Then she imagined being able to sharpen her fur into needles like Glaceon or Jolteon (not that she had any interest in becoming the latter). Eevee wasn't much of a swimmer but she enjoyed the snow. Having no experience with snow until her trainer arrived in the mountains, she enjoyed playing around in it.

Eevee then looked at her trainer. He had warned her not to rush this decision but he didn't seem to have anything against her evolving into Glaceon. He had shown her the other Eeveelutions but not to persuade her to evolve into a different one. He just wanted her to know what her options were. The only Eeveelutions Eevee had met were her brother and May's Glaceon but she knew now that there were several other Pokemon she could evolve into.

Eevee slowly stepped towards the Ice Rock, then stopped and hesitated. She flicked her tail thoughtfully then looked at the ice around the cave, noting how beautiful it was without including beauty of the Ice Rock itself. Eevee liked ice and snow. When the blizzard hit, she had been the last to go in her Poke Ball. Even Riolu and Piplup were recalled before her.

After an internal debate, Eevee took another, more confident step. She grew more certain of her decision as she approached the Ice Rock.

Leafeon was the only one apart from Eevee who was still awake. He made no move to stop her but watched intently. He wasn't trying to discourage her but he, like her and like their trainer, knew how important this decision was.

Eevee stopped right next to the Ice Rock and looked back at her big brother. A silent understanding passed between them. Eevee had made her choice.

A tear fell down Leafeon's cheek as he watched his sister evolve. He wasn't sure if he was happy or sad about Eevee's choice. All he knew was that she'd never be the same.

* * *

When Harry woke he found a Glaceon curled up beside him. He glanced around to make sure it wasn't a wild Glaceon, even though he already knew that it wasn't. He smiled slightly and stroked her head. Her fur was much colder than it had been as an Eevee but smooth and soft, although he knew she could sharpen it whenever she summoned Ice Shard. Glaceon's ear twitched slightly but she remained asleep and her fur didn't sharpen. She'd always liked it when Harry stroked her as an Eevee and it was nice to know that hadn't changed.

Harry looked over at Leafeon who was also sleeping. Sunny Day wasn't in effect anymore and Chimchar's flame had gone out when she fell asleep, making Monferno, also asleep but with his tail flame still burning gently, the only source of heat.

"Harry?" Dawn said and rubbed her eyes before looking at him. She saw the Glaceon curled up beside him. Harry continued stroking his newly evolved Pokemon as he looked at Dawn. He was smiling slightly. It was impossible to tell if it was a happy smile, a sad smile or a combination of both.

"Eevee made her choice," Harry said simply.

 **We've still got quite a long way to go but I'm considering writing Unova once Sinnoh is complete. However I don't want to include Cilan and I'm considering changing Iris' Pokémon team so that she's closer to the Iris from the games. If we do go to Unova, Iris will obviously have Axew, although it might evolve into Fraxture and Haxorus, but should I keep Excadrill, Emolga and Dragonite or give her a new team?**

 **When writing stories, I usually prefer to write chapters a long time in advance so I can keep checking and rewriting them before putting them on the site. However I haven't even started on Unova yet so I need to know how much of the Generation 5 anime, barring Ash's idiocy and Pikachu's weakness of course, I should maintain or whether I should make it more like the games.**


	46. City of Snow and Legend

It took the blizzard another day to clear up but eventually it was safe to leave the cave. During their time inside it, Harry had spent a lot of time training Glaceon.

Glaceon mastered Ice Shard instinctively after her evolution. As her species had a natural instinct to sharpen their fur in battle, learning that attack was effortless for her. She was unable to defeat Leafeon in sparring however, despite her type advantage which left her feeling a bit dejected. She always cheered up when Harry petted her. Although she had changed her form, it seemed she still had her affectionate, playful personality.

Harry wanted to use Glaceon in serious battles now that she'd evolved and so he was planning to use her in the Snowpoint City Gym. But first he wanted her to master that very useful move May's Glaceon had used in the Wallace Cup; Mirror Coat.

This was easier said than done, especially since Glaceon had to be attacked in order to even start learning Mirror Coat and Leafeon got upset whenever she got hurt. To limit the amount of damage Glaceon would have to endure, Harry asked Dawn's Buneary to use her not very effective Ice Beam on her at first, before moving onto more effective attacks as Glaceon's skill at using Mirror Coat increased.

They reached Snowpoint City three days after Glaceon started practicing Mirror Coat and two days after leaving the cave. By this time, Glaceon could turn Pikachu's Thunder against him but still struggled to use Mirror Coat against super effective moves like Flamethrower and Aura Sphere. Nonetheless, Harry was pleased with her progress so when they reached Snowpoint City, he decided to give Glaceon a day off.

Whilst exploring Snowpoint City together, the group stumbled upon Zoey battling a girl with hair in two black pigtails. The girl seemed to be about Ash's age, perhaps slightly younger. Zoey was using her Glameow and her opponent was using a pokemon that looked like a cross between a Christmas tree and an abominable snowman.

"Abomasnow use Wood Hammer!" cried the older girl and the larger Pokemon thundered towards Glameow and its body glowed green before it slammed its whole bulky physique into Glameow knocking her out. Abomasnow then winced in discomfort as Wood Hammer's recoil effect hurt it, "Alright! I win!"

"Congrats," Zoey said smiling, "I still remember when Abomasnow was just a little Snover."

"You know your Glameow must be easily strong enough to evolve into Purugly by now," Candice replied. At the sound of her evolved form's name, Glameow opened one eye and gave Candice a rather withering look.

"There's a reason Purugly has ugly at the end of its name," Zoey said, "Glameow hates her evolved form, as you well know."

"Plus Purugly wouldn't be so good in contests," Dawn called as she and her friends approached. Zoey beamed when she saw her, "She's just like my mom's Glameow."

"Hey guys," Zoey said happily, "I was hoping you'd show up while I'm home. Candice these are my friends, Dawn, Ash, Brock and Harry." Harry considered Zoey more of an acquaintance than a friend but didn't comment.

"Pleased to meet you," Candice said, "I'm the Snowpoint Gym Leader Candice and I'm an old friend of Zoey."

"Good to meet you too," Ash said.

"Yeah," Harry said but was more focussed on Abomasnow. He was wondering how many snow covered trees they had passed on the way here had actually been this Pokemon camouflaging itself. He took out his pokedex.

" _Abomasnow the Frost Tree Pokemon and evolved form of Snover._ _It lives a quiet life on mountains that are perpetually covered in snow. It hides itself by whipping up blizzards_."

"Zoey told me about you guys," Candice said cheerfully, "Two of you want to challenge me right?"

"Yeah, Ash and I," Harry said.

"I'll take you to the gym but first I need to give Abomasnow time to rest," Candice said, "How about Zoey and I take you on a tour instead?"

"That sounds great," said Dawn. Candice recalled her Abomasnow and led the group around the city, pointing out various parts of it. Eventually they reached the edge of the city.

"Hey why don't we show them the Snowpoint Temple?" asked Zoey. Candice glanced at her and hesitated, "I trust all four of them. The statue won't be in danger."

"What statue?" Brock asked. Candice glanced at Zoey, then the others before deciding to trust her childhood friend's judgement.

"Come and see," said Candice and then opened a Poke Ball. A three headed ostrich like Pokemon appeared, "Dodrio we're going to the Snowpoint Temple." The Gym Leader hopped onto Dodrio's back. Harry took out his pokedex.

" _Dodrio the Triple Bird Pokemon and evolved form of Doduo. While two heads sleep, one head stays awake. Its heads represent joy, sorrow, and anger_."

Candice's Dodrio moved at a slow pace so the others could keep up. The Triple Bird Pokemon seemed to like having its trainer on its back. Snowpoint Temple was over a mile away from the city but the distance wasn't too much trouble for people who had travelled around the majority of Sinnoh and, in Ash and Brock's case, several other regions. The Temple was a huge stone building built into the side of a cliff. Candice went to the large doors and unlocked them.

"Very few people are allowed in here," she said, "I'm only allowed because I'm the Gym Leader. I sometimes use this place to train in private." She and Zoey had to work together to push open the huge, heavy doors.

The chamber inside was huge and made of stone but empty except for a stone staircase leading to a lower level.

"I always train in this chamber," Candice said, "I don't want to risk disturbing the Legendary Pokemon. Outside Snowpoint City, very few people know this Pokemon even exists."

"How old are you Candice?" asked Harry.

"Fourteen," she replied, "Why?"

"Because you look too young to be allowed to mess around in a Legendary Pokemon's resting place," Harry said, before grimacing when Dawn elbowed him rather hard in the ribs.

"Harry!" she snapped but Candice didn't look offended.

"One of the perks of being a Gym Leader," she said simply and led them to the stairs, "And by the way there's a difference between training and messing around."

"Oh yeah, sorry," Harry said. Dawn was glaring at him before smiling apologetically at Candice. The older girl didn't seem offended. Despite specializing in Ice types, she seemed to be a very warm person.

At the bottom of the stairs was another door only this one had no obvious key hole. Instead it was covered in a series of buttons arranged in a Braille pattern. Candice pushed each button in a certain order. The doors opened very slowly.

Inside was a giant Pokemon with a Braille pattern on its yellow face that matched the pattern on the doors. It had huge, powerful arms and thick strong legs. Around the Pokemon were three huge pillars, one made of ice, one made of rock and one made of steel.

"This Pokemon's been here for centuries, according to legend," Zoey said, "It is said that it once helped the Legendary Pokemon Groudon create continents by dragging them through the sea. But in living memory there's never been a time where it's woken up."

"It looks a bit like Brandon's Legendary Pokemon," Ash noted, "Except a lot bigger." He looked curiously at the pillars remembering Brandon's Regice, Regirock and Registeel whom he had battled nearly a year earlier.

"We call it Regigigas," Candice said, "That's the name that's been passed down in the legends." They all looked at Regigigas for a few more moments. Finally Candice said; "I think we should go now."

As the group left the cave, Riolu turned back and looked at Regigigas. Much like with the Lustrous Orb, he was the only one who could sense the powerful Aura emanating from Regigigas. Also like the Lustrous Orb, the Aura seemed to be dormant, like a volcano that hadn't erupted in centuries but still had the ability to do so.

"Riolu!" Harry called, "We're going!" Riolu followed the others out.

* * *

Ash was going to have the first battle with Candice so Harry sat in the stands with Riolu, Dawn, Brock and Zoey. The battlefield was made entirely out of ice but had numerous ice rocks dotted around it.

"Sneasel let's go!" cried Candice and let out a small Pokemon that looked like a Weavile but with one feather on its head instead of a whole crown and two claws on each hand instead of three. Dawn took out her pokedex.

" _Sneasel the Sharp Claw Pokemon._ _It is smart and sneaky and a pair may work together to steal Eggs by having one lure the parents away._ "

"Pikachu ready to go?" Ash asked and Pikachu nodded before jumping onto the battlefield.

"Let the match begin!" said the referee.

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" ordered Ash and Pikachu darted across the ice. Candice raised an eyebrow, impressed that Pikachu wasn't slipping.

"Agility!" called Candice and Sneasel darted away, sliding between the ice rocks with remarkable speed, "Sneasel use Metal Claw!" Sneasel lunged at Pikachu from behind and both claws turned to metal.

"Iron Tail!" called Ash and Pikachu spun around and his tail collided with Sneasel's claws creating a loud clang like two swords clashing together. Sneasel pulled back her other claw but Pikachu flipped himself backwards out of range, "Thunderbolt!"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu blasted Sneasel with a bolt of electricity and the Sharp Claw Pokemon screeched in pain.

"Sneasel use Faint Attack!" ordered Candice and Sneasel darted forwards before disappearing for just a second and reappearing behind Pikachu before tackling him, "Good now use Ice Shard!" Sneasel created a shard of ice between its claws and threw it at Pikachu, knocking him into an ice rock.

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt!" called Ash and Pikachu fired the attack at Sneasel but Candice was ready.

"Agility, then Faint Attack!" she ordered and Sneasel darted around the battlefield very quickly before disappearing for a second and tackling Pikachu from behind.

"A combination of Agility and Faint Attack's going to be tough to beat," Brock said.

"Sneasel Ice Shard!" called Candice.

"Smash it with Iron Tail!" Ash countered and when Sneasel through the Ice Shard Pikachu's Iron Tail shattered it like glass before he flipped over again to hit Sneasel.

"Metal Claw!" ordered Candice and Sneasel quickly crossed its claws and once again the clash of steel on steel rang throughout the room. Pikachu flipped himself backwards as Candice called out, "Now Faint Attack!" True to her species' sneaky nature, Sneasel vanished for a second then ambushed Pikachu from behind, "Finish with Metal Claw!"

"Sneeeasel!" cried Sneasel and slashed Pikachu with Metal Claw, knocking him out.

"Pikachu is unable to battle, Sneasel wins!"

"Wow that's Sneasel's very well trained," Brock commented.

"Of course it is," Zoey said, "Candice is young but she's already a great Gym Leader." Ash tried not to slip on the ice as he retrieved Pikachu and congratulated him before setting him down beside him.

"Monferno I choose you!" Ash cried and Monferno appeared and smirked confidently at Sneasel, "Use Flamethrower!" Monferno fired flames at Sneasel.

"Agility!" called Candice and Sneasel darted away before sliding around the battlefield.

"Monferno keep a close eye on Sneasel!" Ash called and Monferno watched carefully as Sneasel darted around.

"Aerial Ace!" called Candice and Sneasel suddenly lunged, surrounded by white streaks. She was trying to catch Ash off guard but it wasn't working because of his experience with Paul's Weavile.

"Flame Wheel!" Ash countered and Monferno rolled in flames and smashed into Sneasel, overpowering Aerial Ace and knocking her out.

"Sneasel is unable to battle, Monferno wins!"

"Great work Sneasel," Candice said, "You fought well. Alright Medicham you're up!" An odd looking Pokemon with a very thin grey body, fat red legs on tiny grey feet and a red headpiece with three bulbs on it appeared.

"Hold on," Harry said, "Medicham's not an Ice type."

"That's quite clever," Brock said, "Challengers would be prepared to face Ice types so using a Fighting and Psychic type could catch them off guard." Dawn scanned Medicham with her pokedex.

" _Medicham the Meditate Pokemon and evolved form of Meditite. Through a combination of food deprivation and meditation, Medicham gains the ability to see its opponent's Aura_."

"Rio?" Riolu looked at the pokedex in surprise when it mentioned Aura. Harry looked interestedly at Medicham.

"Monferno I'll use you later," Ash said and recalled Monferno. He looked at Medicham for a moment. He hadn't expected Candice to use a Pokemon that wasn't an Ice type, but he knew how to counter it, "Staraptor I choose you!" Staraptor emerged and hovered above the battlefield, "Use Aerial Ace!" Staraptor dived whilst surrounded by white streaks.

"Confusion!" ordered Candice and Medicham's eyes glowed pink and pink energy surrounded Staraptor, halting him before he could land his Aerial Ace. Medicham then smashed him into the ground, "Alright Medicham use Focus Blast!" Medicham formed a blue orb and hurled it at Staraptor. Harry and Riolu watched the blue orb intently, remembering what Riley had told them about the two variants of Focus Blast.

"Star!" cried Staraptor as he was blasted backwards by the attack.

"Alright Medicham use Ice Punch!" ordered Candice and Medicham's fist became covered in ice before it lunged at Staraptor.

"Close Combat!" ordered Ash. Staraptor took Ice Punch in the face but then struck back with his clenched talons before swiping Medicham with his wings and pecking it with his beak.

"Ice Punch again!" ordered Candice and Medicham pulled back its fist to deliver another freezing punch.

"Quick Attack, then Aerial Ace!" ordered Ash and Staraptor shot straight up to dodge Ice Punch before circling back around and smashing into Medicham with Aerial Ace.

"Medicham is unable to battle, Staraptor wins!"

"Good job Staraptor," Ash said to the worn out Predator Pokemon, "Take a break for now." Staraptor disappeared in a beam of red light while Candice summoned her third Pokemon.

"Frosslass you're up!" she called and a floating Pokemon with a red ribbon around her middle and two arms extending down from her head, which seemed to be a kind of mask appeared. Harry scanned the Pokemon.

" _Frosslass the Snow Land Pokemon and one of the evolved forms of Snorunt. She is said to secretly display her prey and her body is actually hollow_."

"Buizel I choose you!" Ash let out the still unevolved Sea Weasel Pokemon who folded his arms confidently.

"Frosslass use Ice Beam!" ordered Candice and Frosslass launched three cold beams from her mouth.

"Aqua Jet!" ordered Ash and Buizel shot towards the Ice Beam and allowed it to freeze the water around him before slamming into the surprised Frosslass with Ice Aqua Jet. The Ice around Buizel shattered a moment later as he broke out of it.

"That was clever," Candice said, "Alright Frosslass use Attract!" Frosslass winked flirtatiously at Buizel and pink hearts came out of her body and touched Buizel, who suddenly had hearts in his eyes.

"Buizel snap out of it and use Water Pulse!" ordered Ash but Buizel just kept staring at Frosslass.

"Frosslass use Psychic!" ordered Candice and Frosslass' eyes glowed blue and blue energy surrounded Buizel. Frosslass then waved her hands and sent Buizel crashing into an ice rock.

"Buizel return," Ash said, recalling his infatuated Buizel before he could get hurt any further, "Staraptor you're up again! Use Aerial Ace!" Staraptor emerged and shot towards Frosslass slamming into her with the undodgeable Aerial Ace.

"Attract!" ordered Candice and Frosslass winked at Staraptor and sent hearts towards him too. Like Buizel, Staraptor got hearts in his eyes, "Now use Ice Beam!"

"Quick Staraptor return!" Ash said rescuing Staraptor from the freezing Ice Beam just in time.

"The problem is all the Pokemon Ash is using in this battle are males," Brock said, "Frosslass is a species that is always female."

"Buizel come on out!" Ash let out Buizel again who looked up at Frosslass with an annoyed expression.

"Just like confusion, infatuation wears off when a Pokemon is recalled," Zoey said.

"Aqua Jet!" called Ash and Buizel shot towards Frosslass.

"Psychic!" ordered Candice and Frosslass stopped Buizel just a few inches from her body.

"Water Gun!" called Ash and Buizel squirted a Water Gun right into Frosslass' face, not only causing damage but also briefly blinding her and forcing her to relinquish her telekinetic hold on him, "Alright use Aqua Pulse!" Buizel formed Water Pulse and surrounded it with Aqua Jet before shooting towards Frosslass.

"Destiny Bond!" shouted Candice and Frosslass' eyes glowed purple just before the combination move slammed into her and knocked her out. The purple light from her eyes then transferred itself onto Buizel and he glowed purple before fainting.

"Huh?" Dawn looked at Brock.

"Destiny Bond bonds two Pokemon together so that when the user faints, its opponent will too," Brock explained.

"Good job Buizel," Ash said as he recalled him.

"You were great Frosslass," said Candice then grinned at Ash, "Alright Ash, you're two remaining Pokemon may have type advantages over my Abomasnow, but I'm going to show you that she can overcome her type disadvantages! Let's go!" The large Ice and Grass type appeared with her arms folded in a manner very similar to Ash's Buizel.

"Staraptor, I choose you!" Ash released the Predator Pokemon for the third time, "Use Brave Bird!" Staraptor tucked in his wings and was surrounded by red energy. The energy turned blue when he spread his wings.

"Blizzard!" yelled Candice and Abomasnow opened her mouth and fired a freezing Blizzard at Staraptor. Staraptor managed to power through the Blizzard and knock Abomasnow off her feet but the attack had considerably slowed his momentum. Then he winced as the recoil side effect kicked in. "Abomasnow use Ice Punch!"

"Abomasnow!" cried Abomasnow, jumping to her feet with surprising agility for such a large Pokemon and smashing her freezing fist into Staraptor, knocking him out before he even hit the icy gym floor.

"Staraptor is unable to battle, Abomasnow wins!"

"You were great Staraptor, rest up," Ash said, "Monferno, I choose you!" Monferno burst out of his Poke Ball and grinned at Abomasnow. Although she seemed to be at a huge disadvantage, Abomasnow smirked, "Monferno Flamethrower!"

"Monferno!" Monferno shot a stream of flames at Abomasnow.

"Water Pulse!" ordered Candice to Ash's shock. Abomasnow raised her arms, formed a blue orb between them above her head, and slammed the orb into the ground, releasing a wave which doused Flamethrower and washed over the surprised Monferno, "Now use Wood Hammer!" Abomasnow thundered towards Monferno, her entire body glowing green before she slammed into him knocking him off his feet. Abomasnow then winced from recoil damage.

"Monferno use Mach Punch!" ordered Ash.

"Ice Punch!" countered Candice. The two Pokemon's fists collided and a shock wave blasted them both backwards, "Now use Water Pulse!" Abomasnow slammed another orb into the ground and a wave erupted out of it.

"Jump Monferno!" ordered Ash and Monferno sprang over the wave, "Flame Wheel!"

"Water Pulse!" ordered Candice as Monferno rolled through the air. This time Abomasnow hurled the Water Pulse at the airborne Monferno. When it collided it blasted Monferno away. He backflipped and landed on his feet but then clutched his head.

"Monferno?" asked Ash.

"Oh no," Harry mumbled, remembering Water Pulse's rare but dangerous side effect. Monferno started pounding himself on the head with his fists.

"Blizzard!" ordered Candice and Abomasnow blew another freezing Blizzard which washed over Monferno, who was so unfocussed right now that the normally not very effective move knocked him off his feet. He landed on his back then fired a Flamethrower straight into the air, "Let's finish this with Wood Hammer!" Abomasnow thundered towards Monferno.

"Monferno, look out!" yelled Ash and Monferno swung his flaming tail instinctively. Abomasnow faltered and when Monferno turned to face her, she received a Mach Punch right in the face. As she stumbled back, Monferno shook his head and gave Ash a thumbs up, showing the confusion had worn off, "Phew. Alright Monferno use Flamethrower!"

"Water Pulse!" cried Candice and Abomasnow slammed another Water Pulse into the ground.

"Jump Monferno!" called Ash and Monferno jumped. Candice smirked.

"Water Pulse again Abomasnow!" she called and Abomasnow threw another orb at Monferno.

"Knock it back with Mach Punch!" ordered Ash and Monferno punched the orb of water and knocked it back into Abomasnow. Due to her typing the Water type move didn't really hurt but it surprised her, "Flame Wheel!" Monferno rolled through the air and slammed into Abomasnow in a wheel of flames before the Frost Tree Pokemon could react. Abomasnow crashed down onto her back.

"Abomasnow is unable to battle, Monferno wins!" cried the referee, "That means the victor is the challenger Ash Ketchum!"

"Alright!" Ash punched the air. Harry rolled his eyes at his over-the-top behaviour. Sometimes it was hard to believe that Ash was five years older than he was. Candice recalled Abomasnow and smiled at the Poke Ball.

"Thanks Abomasnow that was a great battle," Candice said then skated gracefully right across the gym floor towards Ash. When she reached his side of the gym she held out her hand which had a small blue badge in it, "Congratulations Ash. The Icicle Badge is yours."

"Thanks Candice," Ash said and took the badge then held it up for his friends to see. Harry looked at the badge, then at Candice.

"Tomorrow Candice?" Harry called and Candice nodded.


	47. Brandon

It turned out that Harry and Candice didn't have time to battle the following day. When the group, including Candice, rendezvoused at the Pokemon Center early the next morning (Pikachu had to shock Ash to get him out of bed at the ungodly hour), Paul showed up.

"Hey Paul," Ash said. It was remarkable that although he obviously hated Paul, he could still be civil towards him.

"You're Candice aren't you?" Paul said to the Gym Leader, ignoring the others altogether.

"Yes," Candice said, "Who are you?"

"My name's Paul," he replied, "I'd like to challenge you to a battle."

"Sorry but I've already scheduled a battle with Harry today," Candice said apologetically. Paul glanced at Harry.

"You'll find me a more worthy opponent," he said.

"Need I remind you that I've defeated you before?" Harry asked.

"You got lucky," Paul grunted.

"It wasn't luck," Harry retaliated, "Vespiquen beat Torterra out of determination." Paul didn't reply. He'd never admit it but he was still smarting from the time the kid had defeated his strongest Pokemon, with a Pokemon who _should_ have been defeated with a single Stone Edge.

"Fine, I'll come back later," Paul grunted and walked away.

"Who's that jerk?" asked Zoey.

"That's Paul," Dawn replied, "He, Ash and Harry kind of have a three way rivalry."

At that moment, a green van came driving up to them. The driver was none other than Reggie.

"Hey guys," he said cheerfully.

"Reggie!" Ash said.

"It's good to see you all again," said Reggie as he got out of the van. He glanced at Candice who obviously recognized him but couldn't remember his name, "Hi Candice. You've grown."

"Yeah," Candice said, then snapped her fingers as she remembered him, "You're Reggie aren't you? We battled just after I became Gym Leader. You wiped the floor with me." Reggie rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed.

"Well, you were eleven years old which is really young for a Gym Leader," he said, then turned as Paul sauntered back towards them, "Hey Paul, I brought you your Lairon."

"Thanks," grunted Paul.

"You get your big brother to drive around after you?" Harry asked, "You know Pokemon can be transferred directly from Reggie's house."

"It's okay," Reggie assured him, "I was coming to Snowpoint City anyway to visit a friend. I also wanted to see the Snowpoint Ruins."

Then the group heard what sounded like giant propellers. A huge shadow passed overhead, briefly blocking out the still rising sun. Everyone looked up. The hovercraft above them was shaped like a massive metal pyramid at least twice the size of the Pokemon Center. It had four huge turbines sticking out of the four bottom edges of the structure.

"Wow!" Ash cried, "It's the Battle Pyramid!"

"You know about that thing?" Reggie looked at Ash in surprise.

"Yeah," Ash said, "I managed to beat Brandon but I had to battle him three times."

"What!" Paul bellowed, "You defeated Brandon?" Harry noted his agitation, an uncommon demeanour in the normally emotionless boy and smirked.

"I'm assuming you didn't," he said.

"Paul's never battled Brandon before," Reggie interjected, "I did and Paul was there when I was beaten. Come on, let's go and say hello." Harry glanced at Candice.

"Sorry but can we hold off the Gym Battle a bit longer?" he said.

"Sure," Candice said cheerfully, "I want to see who this Brandon person is anyway."

"I'm afraid I can't fit all of you in my van," Reggie said apologetically.

"That's okay," Candice said, "Dodrio, come on out," her Dodrio appeared, "I need a ride to the Battle Pyramid, okay?" Candice said and all three of Dodrio's heads nodded. Candice hopped onto its back while everyone else got into Reggie's van.

* * *

The Battle Pyramid had landed close to the Snowpoint Temple. The propellers must have withdrawn into its underside, as they were no longer visible now that it was on the ground. A powerful looking man who seemed to be in his late forties or early fifties exited the pyramid. This man gave off an aura of power and experience and frankly seemed a bit intimidating. Beside him was a comparatively scrawny young man who must be his assistant.

"Brandon!" Ash called, "Long time no see!" Brandon looked at him and his serious expression faded into a warm smile.

"Well I'll be darned," he said, "It's been a long time, kid. How are you doing?"

"Well, I haven't caught any Legendary Pokemon but I've got my seventh Sinnoh Gym Badge," Ash replied then glanced at the young man, "Hey there, Samuel."

"Good to see you again, Ash," Samuel replied.

"Reggie," Brandon said, after nodding in recognition towards Brock, "I barely recognized you. It's been years."

"Yeah," Reggie said, "And you remember my little brother Paul, right?" Paul was looking at Brandon with an expression that was hard to read but not in the emotionless way it normally was. It was as if Paul was angry with Brandon about something.

"I remember," Brandon said. Candice caught up with them on her Dodrio and hopped off its back before staring at the Battle Pyramid.

"Wow!" she said, "This is incredible!" She looked at Brandon, "And you must be Brandon. I'm Candice the Snowpoint City Gym Leader."

"Good to meet you, young lady," Brandon said.

"I'm Dawn and this is Zoey," Dawn added and Brandon nodded in acknowledgement to both of them.

"Well it's nice to see so many familiar faces," Brandon said, "And a few new faces. Truthfully I was only expecting to see one person I know here." A car drove up to them and a pretty young woman exited. Brandon looked over at her and smiled, "Hello Maria."

"Hi Mary," said Candice waving enthusiastically. Maria smiled gently at the exciteable Gym Leader, then looked at Brandon.

"I'm glad I recovered in time for your arrival, Pyramid King Brandon," she said. Brandon looked concerned.

"Recovered from what?" he asked.

"Just a minor illness," Maria assured him, "I'm fine now."

"Oh you are more than just fine!" cried Brock and predictably he jumped forwards and went down on one knee, "If I had known that there was such a beautiful Maiden as you, I would…"

"Croagunk!"

"Urgh!" Brock was dragged away as usual by Croagunk.

"So Brandon you must be here to study the Snowpoint Ruins," Ash said. Brandon nodded.

"That's correct," he said, "I've heard legends of Regigigas and since I have Regirock, Regice and Registeel, I wanted to see it for myself."

"Are you going to catch it?" Harry asked. Brandon shrugged.

"I don't know," he said, "Regigigas is said to be even stronger than my Legendary Golems. And it might not be a good idea to awaken it, if the legends of what it did in ancient times are true."

"I want to battle you," Paul burst out without warning. Everyone stared at him, "Right here and right now! You can look at the ruins once I've beaten you!" Brandon looked slightly amused.

"Well how could I refuse a challenge like that?" he said then turned to Samuel, "Samuel, I want you to go and have a look around the Temple with Maria. Try not to disturb Regigigas."

"It'll be difficult for you to disturb it," Candice said, "I use the Temple as a training area sometimes and Regigigas has never woken up."

"Even so, don't do anything that might anger Regigigas," Brandon said and Samuel nodded. He and Maria left in Maria's car, "So Paul, let's get down to our battle. Do you mind if the others watch?"

"I couldn't care less," Paul grunted.

"Sheesh what is with this guy?" Zoey muttered.

"He's just a complete asshole," Harry told her simply. Reggie glanced at him for a second then looked away. The group followed Paul and Brandon into the Battle Pyramid.

* * *

Since Samuel was gone, Brock offered to act as referee. Paul bluntly told him there was no need and proposed a six on six battle with substitutions permitted on both sides. Brandon accepted and he and Paul faced each other on both sides of the battlefield.

"Regirock, I need your assistance!" boomed Brandon and a large golem made out of rocks appeared. It had a Braille pattern for eyes and two huge stones instead of hands. Harry took out his pokedex.

" _Regirock the Rock Peak Pokemon._ _Its body is made entirely of rocks and boulders. If parts of its body chip off in battle, it repairs itself by adding new rocks._ "

"Hariyama, stand by for battle!" called Paul and summoned the powerful Fighting type who had managed to knock out Cynthia's Garchomp, "Brandon, you have the honour." Brandon raised an eyebrow, surprised that Paul was offering to let him attack first. Then he nodded.

"Regirock, Stone Edge!" he ordered and Regirock summoned rings of stones around itself before launching them at Hariyama.

"Block it!" ordered Paul and Hariyama held out his huge hands and used them to block the Stone Edge, "You know Rock type moves won't do much damage to Hariyama. Is this a test?"

"You'll have to see," Brandon replied.

"Arm Thrust!" Paul ordered and Hariyama lunged at Regirock.

"Iron Defense!" ordered Brandon and Regirock crossed its arms over its body and was surrounded by a blue outline for a moment. Hariyama struck Regirock five times with its huge hands but the Rock type just stood there and took it, "Now use Hammer Arm!"

"Regi, Rock!" boomed Regirock and pushed Hariyama away after its fifth Arm Thrust before pulling back one arm. The huge boulder on the end of its arm glowed white and it smashed it into Hariyama's face. Hariyama bashed his head hard on the ground when he landed, probably receiving a concussion in the process. Paul looked annoyed but recalled Hariyama without comment.

"Torterra, stand by for battle!" Paul summoned his Starter Pokemon and Brandon smiled.

"Ah," he said, "I see the little Turtwig you had when I battled your brother has evolved."

"Right," Paul said, "And Torterra's my strongest Pokemon. Leaf Storm!" Torterra summoned a powerful whirlwind of leaves from the tree on its back, hurling Regirock into the wall. Regirock fell on its knees and threw out its arms to break its fall. That Leaf Storm had obviously hurt.

"Regirock return," Brandon said and recalled the Legendary Golem, "Regice, I need your assistance!" Another golem, this one made out of Ice with a different Braille pattern which served as its eyes, appeared.

" _Regice the Iceberg Pokemon. It is believed to have been created during the Ice Age. Its freezing body cannot be melted, even by magma._ "

"Hyper Beam!" Paul yelled and Torterra blasted a powerful yellow beam from its mouth at Regice.

"Ice Beam!" Brandon boomed and Regice fired an Ice Beam from an orb created between its hands. The beams collided and there was a large explosion.

"Torterra return," Paul said and recalled the Continent Pokemon as soon as the smoke cleared, "Magmar, stand by for battle!" A humanoid Pokemon with a body like fire appeared. "Use Flamethrower!" Magmar fired flames at Regice.

"Regiiiice!" The Legendary Golem let out a surprisingly high pitched squeal.

"Use Zap Cannon!" ordered Brandon and Regice formed a ball of electricity between its hands and threw it at Magmar.

"Dodge it then Fire Punch!" ordered Paul and Magmar rolled to the side to avoid Zap Cannon, before lunging with its fist surrounded by flames.

"Hammer Arm!" ordered Brandon and Regice's arm glowed white and it punched Magmar's incoming fist. There was an explosion that knocked them both backwards, "Now use Lock On!" The Braille pattern on Regice's face glowed red and it fired a red circle from its hands which landed on Magmar.

"Flamethrower!" ordered Paul.

"Dodge it, then Zap Cannon!" ordered Brandon and Regice narrowly avoided Flamethrower and fired another ball of electricity. Magmar received a huge shock when the ball struck it and collapsed. Paul recalled it and took out another Poke Ball.

"Ursaring, stand by for battle!" yelled Paul and the massive bear like creature appeared, "Hammer…"

"Arm!" Brandon finished and Regice and Ursaring's glowing arms collided, creating another explosion.

"Use Focus Blast!" yelled Paul and Ursaring summoned the blue orb and threw it at Regice, who was still sliding back from the force of their collision. The Focus Blast knocked Regice into the wall, "Quick, Hyper Beam!"

"Riiing!" Ursaring fired a huge yellow beam at Regice. Brandon smirked and held out Regice's Poke Ball.

"Regice return," he said and the beam exploded in the place where Regice had just been, "It was a mistake to permit substitutions on both sides, Paul. Regirock, I need your assistance!" Regirock appeared again, "Stone Edge!" Stones spun around Regirock before flying into Ursaring and knocking it out. Paul was shaking with fury as he recalled Ursaring.

"Blimey, I've never really seen Paul angry before," muttered Harry.

"Electabuzz, stand by for battle!" yelled Paul sending out the familiar Electric type, "Brick Break!"

"Iron Defense," Brandon said lazily. He could see Paul was losing his cool and it was disrupting his focus. Electabuzz karated chopped Regirock but the Rock Peak Pokemon deflected most of the damage with Iron Defence, "Stone Edge!"

"Protect!" ordered Paul and Electabuzz formed a green barrier. The Stone Edge slammed into the barrier and Electabuzz smirked at Regirock from within its shield. When the Stone Edge finished, Electabuzz allowed the barrier to fade.

"Hyper Beam!" boomed Brandon as soon as Protect was gone. Regirock formed a yellow ball of energy between the two rocks on the ends of its arms and fired a yellow beam, which knocked Electabuzz off its feet and wiped the smirk off its face. Electabuzz rubbed its head and grunted as it got up again, "Alright Regirock return. Registeel, I need your assistance!" Brandon's third and final Legendary Golem, made completely out of iron with another unique Braille pattern for eyes, appeared.

" _Registeel the Iron Pokemon. Its body is harder than any kind of metal. Recent studies have revealed that its body is also hollow_."

"Brick Break!" yelled Paul and Electabuzz karate chopped Registeel, who didn't even bother to defend itself. Despite Brick Break being super effective, it looked like Electabuzz had done more damage to its hand than to Registeel. Electabuzz stepped back with a pained expression.

"Hammer Arm!" Brandon called and Registeel moved with surprising speed, punching Electabuzz with its glowing arm and knocked it out, "Alright what's wrong?" There was a note of mocking in the Pyramid King's voice, "And here I thought you wanted to beat the man who defeated your brother."

Paul had been surpressing a lot of anger over the years. Anger at his brother for being weak and for just giving up after losing to Brandon. Anger at Brandon for causing Reggie to quit training and be a damn _breeder_ of all things! Pokemon could sort out their sex lives in the wild! Under the command of people, they were for battling!

All of his resentment towards Brandon and Reggie was spilling out of Paul now and disrupting his focus. He respected Brandon's skill as a trainer, knowing that one had to be extraordinarily gifted to capture and control even one Legendary Pokemon, let alone three, but he was still furious with him for ruining what Paul had always assumed to be Reggie's destiny. He had always thought Reggie would become a great Pokemon trainer, perhaps even a Champion but now he couldn't look up to his brother anymore because Brandon had knocked him off his pedestal. Paul didn't even realize how childish his grudge against Brandon really was.

"The truth is it's only because you defeated Reggie that my victory over you will have meaning," Paul said, "Reggie was a great Pokemon trainer. He could have been a Frontier Brain or even a Pokemon Champion but you robbed him of that."

"Reggie chose his own path," Brandon replied calmly, "And you didn't expect me to hand him the Brave Symbol without losing to him first, did you?"

"Reggie chose to be weak!" roared Paul. Reggie was watching his little brother in shock. He'd never known that Paul had been supressing so much emotion for the last five years, "He chose to pamper his Pokemon instead of use them to their full potential! You challenge trainers to find their inner strength but that something my brother wasn't able to do! But I'm not like my brother! My will gives me strength and now you'll witness it first hand!"

"Oh really?" asked Brandon, "Then why do you only have two Pokemon remaining? Why have you not taken down even one of my Pokemon?"

"Lairon, stand by for battle!" yelled Paul and the Pokemon Reggie had brought for him appeared. It was a four legged and heavily armored creature.

" _Lairon the Iron Armor Pokemon and evolved form of Aron. When two Lairon meet in the wild they fight over terrirory by smashing into each other with their Steel bodies._ "

"Iron Head!" roared Paul and Lairon thundered towards Registeel surrounded by white energy.

"Show them a real Iron Head, Registeel!" Brandon boomed and Registeel surrounded itself with white energy and smashed into Lairon, overpowering it with ease and sending it sprawling. Lairon flinched, frightened by the strength of the Iron Head, "Now Flash Cannon!"

"Registeel!" boomed Registeel and formed a sliver orb between its hands before firing a silver beam which exploded when it hit Lairon. When the smoke cleared Lairon was unconscious, leaving Paul with only Torterra.

"Paul, you're so wrapped up in the past that you can't focus on the present," Brandon said, "Your childish grudge against me and your brother is preventing you from finding your true strength. You need to let the past go and respect your brother's decision."

Paul didn't reply as he recalled Lairon. He remembered beating Cynthia's Garchomp. True he had to use five Pokemon in order to do so but he still managed it. With that in mind, he released Torterra.

"Torterra, stand by for battle!" he yelled and Torterra appeared, "Earthquake!" Torterra stomped hard on the ground and the battlefield shook so violently that the onlookers in the stands could feel it. Registeel struggled to keep its balance. "Now Hyper Beam!"

"Torterra!" bellowed Torterra and blasted Registeel with a massive beam. The Iron Pokemon already had trouble keeping its balance because of the Earthquake, so the Hyper Beam knocked it off its feet. It picked itself up but need not have bothered because Brandon held out its Poke Ball.

"Registeel return," Brandon recalled the Iron Pokemon and threw another Poke Ball, "Regice, I need your assistance!" Regice appeared. "Ice Beam!" Regice formed the icy orb and fired several freezing beams. Torterra roared in agony as the Ice Beam struck it, freezing its entire body. Torterra was still standing but only because the ice around it was holding it upright. It was clearly unconscious.

Paul stared at Torterra. He wanted to scold it but even Paul knew that Torterra really had tried. It had literally brought Regirock to its knees and knocked Registeel off its feet. However it would have been a miracle if Torterra had been able to endure a direct hit from Regice's Ice Beam, especially since Regice was not only an Ice type but a Legendary Pokemon too.

"Young man is that really the best you can do?" asked Brandon. This time there was no mocking tone in his voice, only a hint of disappointment.

Brandon waited for Paul to reply but for once, Paul was speechless. All that work he'd done over the last five years had been for nothing. Brandon had defeated him and he hadn't knocked out a single Pokemon. Even Cynthia had lost one of her Pokemon in a battle with him. To be fair, she had tried to sweep him with just Garchomp rather than substituting Pokemon like Brandon had, but that detail barely registered in Paul's mind.

Realizing that Paul had nothing to say, Brandon continued, "I can see so much more potential in you. You've done an excellent job training your Pokemon but as I said, you're too focussed on what happened five years ago. Don't let the past affect what's happening in the present. And suppressing your emotions is unhealthy. Have you ever even spoken to anyone about my victory over Reggie?"

"No," mumbled Paul.

"You need to let out your feelings every once in a while," Brandon told him, "Find someone you can talk to about them. If you suppress them for too long without giving them some kind of outlet, they will have a negative effect on you as they did today. You must learn to control your emotions."

"I've been controlling them for five years!" snapped Paul but Brandon shook his head.

"Controlling your emotions and suppressing them are not the same thing," he said, "Once you learn the difference between them, I hope we can battle again."

* * *

Once everyone was outside the Battle Pyramid, Reggie turned to Paul. His younger brother looked back with a mixture of defiance and shame. It had been a humiliating defeat.

"Paul, I chose to become a breeder because that's what I wanted," Reggie said, "We may share the same blood but we're two very different people."

"I know that," Paul muttered.

"Then why won't you accept my choice?" Reggie asked. Paul didn't reply. Reggie sighed, "Brandon's right. You still are just an immature little boy pretending to be a man." Paul turned and started to walk away.

"Paul," Ash called, "How about you and I have a full battle?" Paul paused. Ash wasn't just offering this because he'd seen Paul get his ass handed to him. He thought a full battle might actually help Paul get over his depression, since he knew he wouldn't be able to sweep Paul's entire team without losing a few of his Pokemon in the process. And if he defeated Paul, so much the better.

"You know what, I think that's a great idea," Reggie said, "How about it, Paul?" Paul turned and looked at Ash. Out of habit his face was expressionless, despite what Brandon had told him about suppressing his emotions. Finally he nodded.

"Okay," he said, "When?"

"How about ten days from now at Lake Acuity?" Reggie said and looked at Ash, who nodded.

"I'll be there," he said.

"Me too," Paul said, before walking away.

"Well, I'm going to go and visit my friend," Reggie said, "I'll see you guys in ten days."

"I'd better get going too," said Candice, "I need to do some training for our gym battle, Harry." Harry nodded and grinned confidently. Candice smirked back, "I'm warning you, I'm no pushover."

"I know," Harry said, "I saw that for myself when you battled Ash."

"Hey Candice could I have a ride back to the city?" said Zoey, "I need to prepare for my next contest."

"Sure," said Candice and summoned her Dodrio. She and Zoey hopped onto its back and waved as Dodrio ran back towards Snowpoint City. As soon as they were gone, Maria's car returned and she and Samuel leapt out of it, looking frantic.

"Brandon, there's an emergency at the Snowpoint Temple!" cried Samuel. He and Maria were looking a bit dishevelled as if they had been attacked, "Some group of people led by a woman on a Salamence attacked us and then sealed off the temple!"

"A woman on a Salamence?" Ash gasped.

"Oh damn," muttered Harry. There was only one person this could be. The Pokemon Hunter J.


	48. Rampage of Legendary Pokemon

To save time, Brandon took Harry, Ash, Dawn, Brock, Samuel and Maria to the Snowpoint Temple in the Battle Pyramid. It would have taken them five minutes to get there on foot, but in the Battle Pyramid it only took one. Everyone knew what J must be after.

"Do you think Regigigas will even notice J's presence?" asked Harry, "It's been asleep for centuries without paying attention to anything that goes on around it."

"To wake Regigigas, J needs to destroy the three pillars consisting of Rock, Ice and Steel," Maria said, "That's why Candice trains in the entrance hall. A stray attack could knock down the pillars and anger Regigigas."

"Brandon, do you know J?" asked Ash.

"I've heard of her," Brandon replied, "She sells Pokemon on the black market, doesn't she?"

"Right," Harry said and was struck with a realization, "Which means your Regirock, Regice and Registeel could be in danger too!"

"Yeah and the Battle Pyramid doesn't exactly give us the element of surprise," Brock added as a group of Metang, Skarmory and Golbat rose up in front of the Battle Pyramid. The Metang and Skarmory started firing Flash Cannons while the Golbat used Shadow Balls. The Battle Pyramid rocked dangerously.

"Sir, one of our turbines has been destroyed!" Samuel shouted.

"Hang on!" boomed Brandon and moved the Battle Pyramid towards the ground. It was a bumpy landing but nobody was hurt. The Snowpoint Temple was right in front of them and so were J's henchmen, "Let's go!" Brandon was undeterred by the superior numbers.

The group rushed out of the Battle Pyramid to find the Skarmory, Golbat and Metang hovering above them.

"Regirock, Regice, Registeel, I need your assistance!" boomed Brandon and summoned all three of the Legendary Golems, "Regirock Stone Edge and Regice use Blizzard. Registeel, clear the path to the temple with Iron Head!" Regirock shot Stone Edge which knocked Skarmory, Golbat and Metang out of the sky while Regice summoned a Blizzard which blew them backwards and froze several of them. There were still more approaching though.

"Pikachu, help out with Thunderbolt!" ordered Ash and Pikachu launched a blast of electricity which looked more like Discharge, except it was yellow instead of blue.

"Piplup use Whirlpool," Dawn commanded and Piplup trapped several of their opponents in Whirlpool.

"Copycat Pikachu's Thunderbolt, Riolu," ordered Harry and Riolu mimicked Pikachu's Thunderbolt, even launching it in several directions as the Electric type had done.

Despite their superior numbers, the Skarmory, Metang and Golbat stood no chance against the combined might of the Legendary Golems and Harry, Ash and Dawn's Starter Pokemon. Meanwhile Registeel charged towards J's henchmen with Iron Head, causing them to scatter. Most of them started cowering as the group strode towards the Temple, flanked by the Legendary Golems.

Once inside, they heard explosions coming from the underground chamber. The three Legendary Golems went on ahead, instinctively determined to protect Regigigas. When the group reached the bottom of the steps, they found that the door separating Regigigas' chamber from the rest of the Temple had been destroyed. J and her Salamence were visible through the remains of the door. The Rock and Ice pillars had just been destroyed.

"J stop!" yelled Ash looking at the giant "statue" between the pillars. Regigigas was stirring and clenching its fists but didn't seem to be fully awake yet.

"If you awaken Regigigas, you'll put the whole area in danger!" Brandon boomed. J just smirked.

"Do you really think I care about that, Pyramid King?" she asked. Salamence opened its mouth and roared threateningly at the group.

"Regice, Regirock, Registeel use Hyper Beam!" bellowed Brandon and the three Legendary Golems fired at Salamence.

"Dodge!" ordered J and Salamence moved with astonishing speed, dodging all three of the Hyper Beams with ease. The beams exploded against the ceiling and brought down a few rocks, weakening the temple's structure. "Now use your Hyper Beam on the Steel pillar!"

"Pikachu Thunder!" yelled Ash and Pikachu blasted Salamence with a huge electric shock while it was forming the Hyper Beam. Salamence roared but still successfully aimed the Hyper Beam at the pillar, blasting it to the ground. Salamence then backed off, wincing slightly from the Thunder as Regigigas woke up. Regigigas looked at each of the destroyed pillars, then at J's Salamence. Dawn took out her pokedex.

" _Regigigas the Colossal Pokemon. It is believed to have created Regirock, Regice and Registeel out of clay, ice and magma._ "

"Regi!" boomed Regigigas furiously at Salamence and its fist was surrounded by icy energy. It swung the Ice Punch towards Salamence, but was too slow for the agile Dragon type. Despite recharging from Hyper Beam, Salamence dodged the Ice Punch with ease and J leapt onto its back, before aiming her freeze ray at the Legendary Pokemon.

"No!" yelled Harry when he saw the freeze ray, but Regigigas picked up the remains of the ice pillar and hurled it at Salamence, before doing the same with what was left of the rock and steel pillars. Salamence dodged them all but the steel pillar crashed against a boulder in the upper part of the wall which nearly crushed Salamence underneath it.

"Salamence, get us out of here!" yelled J, realizing that within a confined space she and her Pokemon could easily get crushed. Salamence flew away from Regigigas and out of the chamber, while the Colossal Pokemon hurled anything it could get its hands on around the chamber. Regigigas stomped after Salamence and for the first time noticed that there were other intruders in its home. It stomped hard on the ground and the ground started to shake from the Earthquake attack.

"Everybody out quickly!" Brandon yelled then looked at his Legendary Golems, "I need you three to cover our escape!" Regice, Regirock and Registeel obeyed and used Hammer Arm to shatter falling boulders. Regigigas stomped after them as they retreated. One thing the group noticed was that for all its power, it was very slow so the group was able to keep ahead of it easily.

Then Regigigas formed a massive Hyper Beam between its hands as they reached the doors. Regirock and Registeel jumped between Regigigas and the humans and took the Hyper Beam head on, resisting it thanks to their typing but the explosion brought the entrance of the temple crashing down. The Legendary Golems backed off.

"Are you alright?" Brandon asked, glancing at all three of his Pokemon and checking them for injuries. All three Legendary Golems raised their arms to show him they were fine. The group stared at the rubble.

"So now what?" Harry asked.

"We need to help Regigigas out of there," said Brandon and his three Legendary Golems stepped towards the rubble.

Without warning, Regigigas exploded out of the rubble with far greater speed than it had shown inside the Temple. Regirock was sent flying by an Ice Punch and Registeel was knocked away with Fire Punch.

"Quick Regice, Ice Beam on its legs!" ordered Brandon as Regigigas lunged at Regice preparing another Fire Punch. Regice hastily froze Regigigas' feet to the ground and it boomed angrily. Brandon glanced at Regirock and Registeel as they picked themselves up. His Legendary Pokemon were still worn out from their battle with Paul, but outnumbered Regigigas three to one. "Registeel, Iron Head and then Regirock use Stone Edge!" Regigigas kicked its way out of the ice encasing its feet, only to be smashed against the rubble by Registeel's Iron Head. Registeel jumped away and Regirock fired Stone Edge weakening Regigigas further. Brandon took out a Poke Ball.

"Brandon, what are you doing?" asked Ash.

"I'm going to calm Regigigas' rage by catching it," Brandon said and threw the Poke Ball. It sucked Regigigas inside but only shook once before the Colossal Pokemon smashed its way out. It lunged towards Regice and pulled back its fist for another Fire Punch, "Regirock, Iron Defense!" Regirock leapt between Regigigas and Regice and crossed its arms, holding its ground as Fire Punch slammed into it, "Hammer Arm, Registeel!" Registeel lunged at Regigigas who turned quickly, only to receive a Hammer Arm right in the middle of the Braille pattern that served as its eyes. It stumbled away with a bellow of pain and Brandon took out another Poke Ball.

"Spider Web!" came J's voice and suddenly a net made entirely out of spider silk descended on the group. Maria and Brock managed to dodge the Spider Web and turned to the Ariados who had fired it, "String Shot!" A moment later both Brock and Maria were tied together while Brandon, Harry, Ash, Dawn, Pikachu and Piplup struggled to throw off the Spider Web. "Thank you for weakening Regigigas, Brandon."

J stood on her Salamence's back and recalled her Ariados. She aimed her freeze ray at Regigigas, who looked up and the Braille patterned eyes glowed purple before purple light surrounded its body. Regirock, Regice and Registeel's Braille patterns all turned red (or in Registeel's case a darker shade of red).

"Oh no!" cried Brandon, "That's Confuse Ray!" Then Registeel fired a Flash Cannon which blasted Salamence and nearly knocked J off its back. She grabbed her Pokémon's shoulder blade and regained her balance. Salamence righted itself in time to avoid Regice's Ice Beam and Regirock's Stone Edge.

"Salamence pull back!" ordered J, "We're going to use our backup plan!" Salamence nodded and turned, barely avoiding a massive Hyper Beam from Regigigas as it fled. The four Legendary Pokemon stomped past the tied up humans.

"Regirock, Regice, Registeel!" yelled Brandon, but the three Pokemon seemed unable to hear him. The four golems started firing Hyper Beams, Ice Beams, Flash Cannons and Zap Cannons at random, seeming intent on causing as much destruction as possible.

Then Brock had an idea. He turned to Maria.

"Dear Maria," he said, "If I had to be tied up with anyone, I'm glad it was you!"

"Brock, now's not the time!" groaned Harry but Brock ignored him.

"I'm so glad I could be bound together with such a beautiful woman," he continued, "Perhaps one day we could also be bound together in…"

"Croagunk!" Croagunk Poison Jabbed him, simultaneously breaking the String Shot and freeing both of them.

"…holy matrimony," groaned Brock and collapsed to the ground.

"Hey smart plan, Brock," said Ash. Croagunk looked around at the rest of them, before using Poison Jab to destroy the Spider Web. Harry looked at Brock disapprovingly, but had to admit it had been a clever idea.

"We need to catch up to Regigigas and the others!" Brandon cried.

"Right," Harry threw a Poke Ball, "Drifblim lead the way!" The Blimp Pokemon burst out and led the group after the rampaging Pokemon.

"They're heading for Snowpoint City!" Dawn realized.

"And they've got a head start!" Brandon growled then had an idea, "Spiritomb, I need your assistance!" Everyone was even more shocked by Spiritomb's presence with Brandon than his three Legendary Pokemon.

"You've got a Spiritomb too?" said Harry, then remembered what his grandfather had told him about the time he had first seen a Spiritomb, "Wait did you find Spiritomb with Professor Rowan?"

"Yes," Brandon said, "We were exploring a ruins together and stumbled upon Spiritomb's keystone. Why?"

"Because he's my grandfather," Harry said. Brandon looked surprised.

"I see," Brandon said, then looked up at Spiritomb, "Spiritomb, I need you to go on ahead and put Regigigas to sleep with Hypnosis." Spiritomb bobbed up and down obediently and floated off.

"Gliscor, Staraptor you guys help Spiritomb!" called Ash and released the two Flying types.

"You too Drifblim," called Harry, "Whatever happens, don't let the Legendary Pokemon reach Snowpoint City." Drifblim nodded and she, Gliscor and Staraptor flew off after Spiritomb.

* * *

The Flying and Levitating Pokemon caught up with the Legendary Golems in a rocky gorge. Drifblim flew down and summoned Ominous Wind, which slowed them down slightly. Staraptor attacked Regirock with Close Combat, forcing the tired Legendary Pokemon to use Iron Defense to protect itself. Gliscor bit Registeel with Fire Fang, before leaping backwards when it attempted to strike back with Hammer Arm. Drifblim fired Shadow Ball at Regice, who countered with an Ice Beam that was so strong, it broke through the Shadow Ball. Drifblim hastily used Minimize to avoid the attack.

While Regigigas' guards were distracted, Spiritomb floated towards the Colossal Pokemon who swung a Thunder Punch at it. Spiritomb ducked and looked straight at Regigigas' Braille pattern. It's vortex like body began to spin and hypnotic waves washed over Regigigas. Regigigas slumped to the ground and its hold over Brandon's Pokemon was broken. Staraptor, Gliscor and Drifblim backed off when they saw that the three Legendary Pokemon had calmed down.

"Salamence, Flamethrower on Drifblim and Claydol, Hyper Beam on Gliscor and Staraptor!" yelled J from behind them. The three victims turned as Salamence blasted Drifblim with Flamethrower. Salamence and J were accompanied by a Pokemon that appeared to be made of clay, with a head that somewhat resembled that of an owl, but with red eyes all around the spherical shape and "beaks" between each eye. It also had two round arms floating by its side, independently of the rest of its body. From the protrusions on the end of these round arms it fired two Hyper Beams. One hit Staraptor and the other hit Gliscor.

Although the three Flying types were out of the way, J still had to get past Brandon's Pokemon. She smirked confidently. This could be a challenge, but she enjoyed those and if she captured all five of them, she would make a fortune. She aimed her freezing ray and blasted Regice first, since it was the one who was most dangerous to Salamence and Claydol. Regice had been about to create an Ice Beam but was turned to stone before it could.

"Regice no!" yelled Brandon as he and the others caught up with their Pokemon. J aimed at Regirock and turned it to stone too, "Regirock!" Behind J, the platforms she used to transfer frozen Pokemon back to her airship came floating towards the frozen Legendary Golems from the trucks at the other end of the gorge.

"Riolu, Aura Sphere on the platforms!" ordered Harry and Riolu darted around the Legendary Pokemon and destroyed both platforms with two Aura Sphere's launched in quick succession. J glanced back and grunted in annoyance. Registeel then rammed into her Claydol with Iron Head, but in doing so left itself open to J's freeze ray and was turned to stone.

"Registeel!" yelled Brandon, then looked at the only one of his Pokemon that wasn't frozen, "Spiritomb, Hypnosis on Salamence!" Spiritomb's vortex like body spun once more and released hypnotic waves. Salamence began to get sleepy.

"No!" shrieked J, "Fight it, Salamence!" The large Dragon collapsed, fast asleep. J found herself severely outnumbered and her most powerful Pokemon was unable to help her. In sheer frustration, she pointed her freeze ray at Regigigas.

"Stop!" boomed Brandon, "It's over!"

"Not yet," J snarled and fired at Regigigas who was starting to wake up. Brandon jumped in front of the ray and was turned to stone. Regigigas woke up in time to witness the Pyramid King's sacrifice.

"Brandon!" yelled Ash. J glared at the frozen man with disgust. More platforms emerged from the trucks at the end of the gorge and moved towards Brandon's Pokemon to carry their frozen forms away. Regigigas rose onto its feet and leapt forwards. It started punching the platforms away relentlessly, destroying each one with its powerful fists. Not a single platform got passed it. It was amazing that something so huge could move so quickly, especially considering how slow it was when it first woke up.

"Deactivate the freeze ray!" demanded Brock.

"Make me," sneered J. Harry looked at her freeze ray and had an idea, albeit a morally questionable one.

"Gabite go!" he called. Gabite burst out and grunted dismissively at his trainer, "Pursuade J to deactivate the freeze ray by any means necessary." That command got Gabite's attention. He smirked, then used Dig to ensure J couldn't hit him with her freeze ray. He burst out of the ground underneath the Pokemon Hunter and hurled her off her feet, before leaping on top of her, pinning her to the ground. Claydol rushed forwards to protect its master, but Spiritomb blasted it away with Dark Pulse, burying it under a pile of rubble when it collided with the wall of the gorge. Gabite started using Slash on J relentlessly.

Everyone stared at Harry in shock. Harry grimaced, looking slightly pale but didn't call off Gabite. This was even more disturbing than the time his Vespiquen had killed her own babies.

"Get this thing off me!" screamed J, "I'll let them go, just get it off!"

"Alright Gabite that's enough," Harry said as J pressed a button on her freeze ray and the stone that trapped Brandon and his Legendary Pokemon deactivated. Satisfied, Gabite jumped backwards.

J was bleeding and her clothes were torn from the Slash attacks. She was surrounded and outnumbered and her spineless henchmen had fled. Gabite flexed his claws threateningly. Nobody except J noticed that Claydol had emerged from the rubble. J kept her defeated posture as she recalled Salamence.

"Teleport!" J ordered without warning and Claydol teleported her away. Regigigas reached out to stop them but its powerful hands closed on thin air.

"Damn!" said Harry angrily, "I forgot about Claydol."

"Harry," said Dawn, "What the hell? You told Gabite to torture her!"

"How else were we going to get her to free Brandon and his Pokemon?" Harry asked defensively, "That bitch got what was coming to her!"

"I think Harry's got a point, Dawn," admitted Ash, "As far as we know only J's gauntlet and platforms can deactivate the freeze ray." Dawn still looked rather disturbed.

"We could have tried Happiny's Refresh," Brock said, also looking a bit nauseous. Harry winced guiltily. He wished they'd thought of that _before_ Gabite got his claws bloody. Harry looked at Gabite who was examining J's blood on his claws with an interested expression. He was a predator so blood wasn't new to him, but he'd never had human blood on his claws before. Harry recalled him.

"Regirock, Regice, Registeel are you three alright?" asked Brandon. Regirock, Registeel and Regice raised their arms joyfully, which apparently meant "yes". Brandon then looked up at Regigigas, who was illuminated by the setting sun, "How about you, Regigigas?"

"Regi," Regigigas nodded, then looked at Regice, Regirock and Registeel. The three smaller golems had a brief conversation with Regigigas, explaining that Brandon was their trainer and friend. Regigigas held out a hand to Brandon. Brandon shook one of its huge fingers. Then Regigigas pointed to one of the Poke Balls on his belt. Brandon understood.

"Really?" he asked, "You want to stay with me?" Regigigas shrugged its massive shoulders. Regirock, Regice and Registeel all adored this intimidating but warm hearted man, so it knew Brandon would look after it.

"So this will be your fourth Legendary Pokemon, Brandon," Harry said. Brandon nodded.

"Indeed," he said and took out a Poke Ball. He didn't throw it at Regigigas but instead held it out, giving the huge Pokemon the chance to change its mind. Regigigas tapped the ball very gently, aware that it was more than capable of crushing it, and allowed the ball to suck it inside. It wobbled in Brandon's palm three times and then went still.

Brandon's other Legendary Golems surrounded him, along with his Spiritomb. Brandon looked down at the Poke Ball, then at his Pokemon and smiled.

"Well it looks like we have a new friend," he said. Regirock, Regice and Registeel threw their arms into the air in joy and Spiritomb gave an evil and warm smile.

 **I've done my first poll on my profile page; I've been a member of this site for nearly seven years but I've never done a poll before. If whoever's reading this story wants me to do Unova like the anime, games or a combination of both, please vote in the poll (I even added my own vote in there but I'd like to know how you guys feel about it too).**

 **I realize that I may not be as good at this as FanaticLAguy06 but I'd still appreciate more reviews.**


	49. Battles on Ice

Although Regigigas was now officially Brandon's Pokemon, he decided to stay at the Snowpoint Temple for the time being in order to rebuild it. Harry and his friends slept in the Battle Pyramid that night, too exhausted to make the trip back to Snowpoint City. Samuel was still in the process of fixing the Battle Pyramid. It had been a very busy day for all of them and it was hard to believe Brandon had battled Paul only that morning.

"In all the excitement, I never got around to getting Glaceon to master Mirror Coat," realized Harry as he and his friends settled down to bed in one of Brandon's guest rooms. The Battle Pyramid was Brandon's home as well as his Frontier Facility. It had everything he needed from battlefield to bedrooms.

"Well I think she only has a little way to go," said Ash, "The only Special Attacks she hasn't been able to block are super effective ones."

* * *

The next day the group returned to Snowpoint City and met Candice and Reggie outside the gym.

"Hi Reggie," said Harry, "We got into a bit of a mess after you guys left yesterday."

"Yeah but Brandon caught Regigigas," Ash said.

"Why am I not surprised?" said Reggie.

"I'm not really surpised either," Harry said, "In fact, I was more shocked by the fact that Brandon owns a Spiritomb. Where's Paul?"

"Preparing to battle Candice," said Reggie, "Don't worry, he agreed to let you battle her first."

"So are you ready?" Candice asked eagerly.

"Yep," Harry said confidently, "Let's do this." The group entered the gym and Candice and Harry faced each other on opposite sides of the battlefield. The judge explained the rules although nobody was really paying attention as they already knew the rules, "You know Candice, I like the fact that you do four on four battles. I was getting bored of three on three ones."

"Well I think the Sinnoh gyms should have a bit more variety in their number of Pokemon," Candice said, "As well as their Pokemon types. Go Dodrio!" The Pokemon whom she usually used as transportation landed on the icy battlefield. Surprisingly it didn't seem at all uncomfortable about standing on ice.

"Bronzor take your position!" Harry called and summoned the mask like Pokemon who floated expressionlessly above the battlefield.

"And begin!" cried the referee.

"Dodrio lets start things off with Tri Attack!" cried Candice and Dodrio formed three orbs, one red, one blue and one yellow in each beak. The orbs then connected to each other in the form of a triangle before Dodrio fired the Tri Attack at Bronzor.

"Bronzor Light Screen!" ordered Harry and Bronzor formed a yellow box of light around its body. The triangle slammed into the Light Screen and flames erupted from the red orb, followed by electricity from the yellow one and finally ice from the blue one. Bronzor remained floating calmly as Light Screen absorbed half of the damage.

"Drill Peck!" ordered Candice and Dodrio jumped very high and its beaks started spinning like drills.

"Iron Defense!" ordered Harry and Bronzor glowed blue before white light passed over its face. Dodrio slammed all three spinning beaks into Bronzor and it was knocked backwards by the impact, but took little damage from the attack, "Time to go on the offensive, Bronzor. Gyro Ball!" Bronzor spun and blue light surrounded it before it rammed into Dodrio who skidded backwards across the gym floor, digging its talons into the ice to prevent it from falling over.

"Dodrio use Faint Attack!" ordered Candice and Dodrio ran forwards, disappeared for a moment and then appeared behind Bronzor and kicked it. Bronzor quickly turned to face its opponent.

"Use Flash Cannon!" Harry called.

"Agility!" countered Candice and Dodrio darted away from the silver beam, sliding around the battlefield just as Sneasel had done when Candice battled Ash. Bronzor turned on the spot, keeping its eyes fixed on the more agile Pokemon, "Now use Faint Attack!" Bronzor had, remarkably, managed to watch Dodrio's movements this whole time, but it finally lost sight of the Triple Bird Pokemon when it vanished for a moment. Bronzor turned around, expecting Dodrio to appear behind it but instead Dodrio came at it from the side and this time grabbed it with its talons and hurled it down instead of merely kicking it.

"Gyro Ball!" ordered Harry and Bronzor rammed into Dodrio, this time slamming it into a rock. Dodrio collapsed with a groan, "You know by using Agility, you just gave Bronzor's Gyro Ball greater power."

"All part of the plan," Candice said smugly, "Dodrio, Endeavour!" Dodrio was surrounded by blue energy before slamming into Bronzor and transferring the blue energy onto it, bringing Bronzor down to Dodrio's current level of health, "Good now Drill Peck!"

"Quick Iron Defense!" Harry ordered and Bronzor raised its defense as Dodrio slammed all three of its spinning beaks into it, "Now Bronzor use Flash Cannon!" Bronzor's face glowed silver and then it fired a silver beam which slammed into Dodrio and knocked the tired Triple Bird Pokemon into an ice rock.

"Dodrio is unable to battle, Bronzor wins!"

"Thank you, Dodrio," said Candice as she recalled it, "Tiring out Bronzor even though it used Light Screen and Iron Defense was great work. Go Frosslass!" The female only species appeared and floated above the battlefield.

"Let's get this done, Bronzor," said Harry, "Gyro Ball!" Bronzor spun towards Frosslass.

"Dodge it and use Shadow Ball!" shouted Candice and Frosslass floated to the side to dodge Gyro Ball, then formed a black ball between her hands and hurled it at Bronzor. Shadow Ball blasted Bronzor into an ice rock. Although Light Screen was still in effect, Bronzor had taken too much damage from its battle with Dodrio. Light Screen wore off when Bronzor fainted.

"Bronzor is unable to battle, Frosslass wins!"

"Alright Candice, let me show you my own Ice type," Harry said as he recalled Bronzor, "Glaceon take your position!" Glaceon burst out of her Poke Ball and landed in front of Frosslass. Candice squealed in excitement.

"Oh my goodness, it's so cute!" she cried, then examined Glaceon carefully, "That a female Glaceon, isn't it?"

"You're right," Harry said and his admiration for the young Gym Leader grew, "You really are an expert on Ice types. Glaceon Shadow Ball!" Glaceon fired an orb of shadowy energy at Frosslass.

"Dodge it then use _your_ Shadow Ball!" ordered Candice and Frosslass dodged Glaceon's Shadow Ball before throwing one of her own straight back at Glaceon.

"Mirror Coat!" ordered Harry and Glaceon's fur glowed white. Mirror Coat sent Shadow Ball flying back into Frosslass with twice the power. Frosslass groaned and lifted herself up with her arms, before floating unsteadily back into the air, "Shadow Ball again!"

"Glay!" cried Glaceon and fired another Shadow Ball at Frosslass.

"Destiny Bond!" Candice ordered and Frosslass' eyes glowed purple just before she was hit by the Shadow Ball. A moment after Frosslass fainted, Glaceon also collapsed when a purple glow surrounded her body.

"Well done, Glaceon," Harry said as he recalled her, "I've never used you in an official battle before, but you fought well."

"Great job, Frosslass," Candice said, "Take a break. Alright Sneasel let's go!" Her Sneasel appeared at smirked.

"Riolu go," Harry said and Riolu stepped forwards, smirking confidently, "Aura Sphere!"

"What?!" Candice yelped. As skilled as she was, she was still young and had never seen a Riolu with Aura Sphere before. Sneasel was blasted against an ice rock and fell to the floor, "Riolu knows Aura Sphere? Alright Aerial Ace!" Sneasel picked herself up, wincing from the Fighting type move but not out just yet, and darted towards Riolu surrounded by white streaks.

"Counter!" Harry countered and Sneasel slammed into Riolu with Aerial Ace, only to get knocked out by Counter.

"Sneasel is unable to battle, Riolu wins!"

"I'm sorry, Sneasel," Candice said, recalling her Pokemon and looking at the Poke Ball sadly, "I wasn't prepared. Alright Abomasnow it's your turn!" Her most powerful Pokemon emerged and towered over Riolu.

"Force Palm!" cried Harry.

"Ice Punch!" shouted Candice.

Riolu and Abomasnow's respective attacks collided and the explosion threw them both backwards.

"Aura Sphere!" Riolu threw the familiar blue orb.

"Abomasnow, Ice Punch again!" Abomasnow punched the Aura Sphere, breaking its lock-onto-Aura effect as soon as its fist made contact, and knocked it straight back into Riolu, "I've never seen a Riolu with Aura Sphere before, but I know how the move works. Use Blizzard!" Abomasnow fired a freezing Blizzard from her mouth and Riolu hugged himself, shivering violently from the cold, "Wood Hammer!"

"Aboma!" boomed Abomasnow and thundered towards RIolu.

"Counter!" Harry shouted but Riolu was unable to withstand the powerful Wood Hammer and was smashed against an ice rock. He collapsed, unconscious.

"Riolu is unable to battle, Abomasnow wins!"

"Don't get too comfortable with Counter," Candice warned, "It doesn't work if the Pokemon's been weakened too much to endure an attack."

"I know," Harry muttered and recalled Riolu, "Good work Riolu, get some rest. Chimchar, take your position!" His Chimp Pokemon appeared. Abomasnow smirked confidently, "Flame Wheel!" Chimchar somersaulted and rolled towards Abomasnow.

"Water Pulse!" ordered Candice and Abomasnow slammed a Water Pulse onto the ground, which doused Chimchar's Flame Wheel and stopped her in her tracks, "Now use Ice Punch!" Abomasnow pulled back her icy fist and punched Chimchar, sending her flying across the gym.

"Use Flamethrower!" yelled Harry and Chimchar backflipped and fired Flamethrower before she landed on one of the ice rocks.

"Water Pulse!" ordered Candice and Abomasnow threw a Water Pulse which passed through Flamethrower as if it wasn't there. Chimchar was knocked to the ground and groaned as she struggled to her feet. "Blizzard!" Abomasnow fired a freezing Blizzard and despite her flaming backside, Chimchar shivered.

"Flame Wheel!" ordered Harry and Chimchar rolled through the Blizzard and finally hit Abomasnow, causing her to yell in pain.

"Hang in their Abomasnow, use Ice Punch!" cried Candice and as soon as Chimchar emerged from her Flame Wheel, Abomasnow smashed her freezing fist into her and sent her flying. After taking two Water Pulses, two Ice Punches and a Blizzard, Chimchar was getting worn out. Her bottom blazed and Harry smirked.

"Flamethrower!" he yelled and Chimchar fired a powerful stream of flames.

"Water Pulse!" ordered Candice and Abomasnow slammed another Water Pulse onto the ground. Despite Flamethrower's power being increased by Blaze, it wasn't enough to break through the Water type move. Chimchar fell onto her knees when the Water Pulse hit her. The only reason it hadn't knocked her out was because Flamethrower had been powerful enough to evaporate some of the water before it hit her.

"But Blaze…" Harry began.

"Has its limits," Candice finished, "If your Chimchar was a Monferno or Infernape, a Blaze boosted Flamethrower would have evaporated Water Pulse, but since it's still in its first evolution stage, it didn't stand a chance. Use Blizzard!" Abomasnow blew out a powerful Blizzard and Chimchar was thrown into an ice rock. She collapsed.

"Chimchar is unable to battle, Abomasnow wins!" cried the referee, "The victory goes to the Gym Leader Candice!"

* * *

The next day, Harry decided to go to the Battle Pyramid to do some training with Brandon. Ash, Dawn and Brock stayed behind to watch Paul's battle with Candice. When Harry arrived at the Battle Pyramid, he found Brandon talking to a man with long dark hair who was wearing a red cloak.

"So you've captured Legendary Pokemon too?" Brandon said and Harry's ears perked up. The mysterious man nodded.

"I'd like to challenge you to a battle," he said, "An official one." He threw back his red cloak and took out a case with six golden Frontier Symbols in it. Brandon scanned the symbols briefly and nodded.

"Very well," he said, but before entering the Battle Pyramid he noticed Harry, "Oh hello Harry. What are you doing here?"

"I was hoping you could help me with my training," Harry said, "But I can come back later."

"That's alright," said the mystery man, "I don't mind if you watch our battle."

* * *

"Alright," said Samuel, "This battle between the Pyramid King Brandon and his challenger Tobias will now begin! This will be a three on three battle and the challenger may substitute Pokemon if he wishes while the Frontier Brain may not. So please choose your Pokemon!"

"Registeel, I need your assistance!" boomed Brandon and Registeel appeared. Tobias smiled and took out his own Poke Ball.

"Go Darkrai!" he called and a Pokemon that looked like a shadow appeared, levitating in the air. Harry and Riolu's eyes widened in astonishment and Harry took out his pokedex, fascinated by the mysterious creature.

" _Darkrai the Pitch Black Pokemon. It causes nightmares to defend itself but people who have interacted with this Pokemon whilst awake have discovered that it does not intend to cause harm._ "

"Let the match begin!" cried Samuel and raised his arms.

"Darkrai use Focus Blast!" ordered Tobias and Darkrai formed a blue orb between its hands and hurled it at Registeel.

"Registeel use Hammer Arm!" ordered Brandon and Registeel punched the Focus Blast, knocking it straight back into the surprised Darkrai, knocking the Pitch Black Pokémon backwards with its own attack. Harry and Riolu were both surprised about the fact that the Fighting type move had hurt Darkrai, who at first glance seemed to be a Ghost type, "Now use Lock On!" Registeel fired a red ring which landed on Darkrai.

"Dark Void!" called Tobias and Darkrai threw what looked like a miniature black hole at Registeel. The black hole surrounded Registeel and put it to sleep. "Good, now use Dream Eater!" Darkrai's eyes glowed red before a second Darkrai shot out of the real one and passed through Registeel, draining its energy. Registeel groaned and clutched its head as if it was having a nightmare.

"Registeel, whatever you're seeing is just Darkrai's Bad Dreams!" Brandon bellowed, "They're not real! Wake up!"

"Dream Eater once more!" Tobias ordered and Darkrai sucked away more energy, "Alright now use Focus Blast!" Darkrai formed another blue orb between its clawed hands.

"Registeel, wake up now!" boomed Brandon as Darkrai hurled the Focus Blast. There was another explosion and Brandon gritted his teeth slightly. Registeel was a resilient Pokémon but as long as it was asleep, Darkrai could just keep wearing it down without having to worry about a counterattack. When the smoke cleared Registeel was still lying on the ground. It was impossible to tell if it was unconscious or still asleep. Then Registeel clutched its head again as Bad Dreams kicked in.

From his seat in the stands, Harry glanced at Brandon. The normally unflappable Pyramid King was sweating slightly.

"Focus Blast again!" ordered Tobias, knowing that Registeel was still able to battle because it was still able to react to Bad Dreams. Darkrai hurled another Focus Blast which exploded once again. When the smoke cleared however, Registeel was back on its feet. Tobias' eyes widened in surprise and Brandon regained his confidence.

"Well done Registeel, now use Zap Cannon!" boomed Brandon and Registeel and fired a huge ball of electricity towards Darkrai. Since Lock On was still in effect, Darkrai couldn't dodge it and received a massive electric shock which simultaneously paralyzed it. "Iron Head!" Registeel lowered its head and thundered forwards, surrounding itself with grey light.

"Dark Void!" bellowed Tobias. Because Darkrai was paralyzed, it was too slow to avoid the Iron Head. It grunted in pain as Registeel slammed into it but swiftly recovered and threw another Dark Void, putting Registeel to sleep for the second time, "Dream Eater!" Darkrai's shadow once again passed through Registeel and knocked it out.

"Registeel is unable to battle, Darkrai wins!"

"Excellent work Registeel, take a nice long rest," Brandon said, "Regice, I need your assistance!" His Ice type Legendary Golem appeared, "Spread Ice Beam across the ground!" Regice obeyed and aimed Ice Beam at the battlefield. Darkrai didn't move because Regice wasn't aiming for it. Darkrai, Tobias, Harry and Riolu watched in confusion as Regice spread Ice Beam across the ground, completely ignoring Darkrai. Samuel smiled slightly, realizing what his boss was doing.

"Any idea what Brandon's doing?" Harry asked Riolu who shrugged, looking as baffled as he was.

"Darkrai use Dark Pulse!" ordered Tobias and Darkrai blasted black rings towards Regice, who had now frozen the entire battlefield.

"Dodge and use Hammer Arm!" ordered Brandon and Regice moved with astonishing speed, much faster than when it was battling Paul. Thanks to the frozen battlefield, Regice was able to dart towards Darkrai and smash a Hammer Arm into it before the surprised Pitch Black Pokemon could react.

"So freezing the battlefield gives Regice a speed boost," Harry said and Riolu nodded.

"Use Hyper Beam!" ordered Brandon and Regice fired a yellow beam from between its hands which slammed into Darkrai, creating an explosion which sent it flying. Darkrai crashed into the wall and collapsed.

"Darkrai is unable to battle, Regice wins!"

"I can definitely see why you're the head of the Battle Frontier," said Tobias as he recalled Darkrai, "Let's see if Regice is fast enough to keep up with my Latios. Let's go!" A large blue Dragon appeared and shot towards Regice, before looping around it and flying back to Tobias' side of the battlefield.

"That was an unnecessarily flashy entrance," Harry said and Riolu nodded as Harry took out his pokedex.

" _Latios the Eon Pokemon. Latios is highly intelligent and can fly faster than a jet plane. He is so rare that he is considered Legendary._ "

"Latios use Luster Purge!" ordered Tobias and Latios opened his mouth and formed a purplish-pink orb which extended into a powerful beam. The Luster Purge slammed into Regice and sent it sliding backwards. Regice quickly recovered.

"You chose a Dragon type," Brandon said, "That was a mistake. Ice Beam!" Regice fired Ice Beam at Latios.

"Dodge it and use Draco Meteor!" ordered Tobias and Latios flew up to avoid Ice Beam before shooting an orb of orange energy up into the air. The orb nearly reached the ceiling before exploding open and sending meteors raining down on the battlefield.

"Dodge it, Regice!" ordered Brandon and using the frozen battlefield to increase its speed, Regice darted between the Draco Meteor's, avoiding each and every one. What it wasn't counting on though was for Latios to suddenly dart right in front of it, moving just as quickly as Regice.

"Luster Purge!" ordered Tobias and Latios opened his mouth and formed a purplish-pink orb which extended into a powerful beam. The Luster Purge slammed into Regice and point blank range and send it sliding back across the battlefield and into the wall.

"So Draco Meteor was a distraction to let Latios get close," Brandon muttered, "Alright Regice use Lock On!" Regice fired a red circle which landed on Latios.

"Giga Impact!" ordered Tobias and Latios dived, surrounding himself with a cocoon of purple and yellow energy. Latios slammed into Regice and smashed it against the wall before flying away to recharge.

"Don't give in, Regice!" bellowed Brandon, "Use your Ice Beam!" Regice fired another Ice Beam. Latios tried to dodge, even though Tobias had not told him to, knowing there was no point since Lock On was in effect. Latios screamed in pain and was frozen in a giant ice block, "Now Hyper Beam!" Regice fired another massive Hyper Beam, which shattered the ice and sent Latios crashing into the wall.

"Latios is unable to battle, Regice wins."

"Return Latios," Tobias said and looked at Regice who was worn out but not as much as Tobias had hoped. Nonetheless he sent out his third and final Legendary Pokemon, "There's no shame in losing to an Ice type, especially a fellow Legendary Pokemon. Latias, let's go!" The smaller, red, female counterpart of Latios appeared and hovered in front of Regice, showing an aura of calmness that Latios seemed to lack.

" _Latias the Eon Pokemon. An extremely rare and intelligent species, Latias is considered legendary although she often lives in small herds._ "

"Latias is also a Dragon type," Harry muttered, "So she's at a disadvantage too."

"Mist Ball!" ordered Tobias and Latias formed a white orb in front of her mouth, which grew to the size of a football, before she fired it at Regice. The orb slammed into Regice and burst, sending Psychic mist over the Legendary Pokemon.

"Ice Beam, Regice!" ordered Brandon and the weary Regice obeyed, sending an Ice Beam towards Latias who remained calm even as the super effective attack approached.

"Dodge it and use Dragon Claw!" ordered Tobias and Latias spun gracefully to avoid Ice Beam and her claws became surrounded by draconic energy as she descended.

"Hammer Arm!" ordered Brandon and Regice slammed a Hammer Arm into Latias' incoming claws, creating an explosion that knocked both Pokemon backwards.

"Hyper Beam!" both trainers yelled. Two Hyper Beams collided and there was a massive explosion. When the smoke cleared, Regice and Latias glared at each other for a moment. Then, finally, Regice fainted.

"Regice is unable to battle, Latias wins."

"Excellent work, Regice," Brandon said, "Alright Regirock, I need your assistance!" Regirock appeared and nearly slipped when it landed on the frozen battlefield, but quickly regained its balance, "Stone Edge!" Sharp stones spun around Regirock then slammed into Latias who was still recharging.

"Recover!" ordered Tobias and Latias' body glowed gold as she restored half of her energy, "Now use Draco Meteor!" Latias fired an orb into the air and meteors erupted out of it. Lacking the agility of Regice, especially on the icy battlefield, Regirock was forced to endure a direct hit from the powerful attack.

"Stone Edge one more time!" ordered Brandon and Regirock fired another Stone Edge at Latias.

"Dodge it and use Dragon Claw!" ordered Tobias and Latias flew between the sharp stones and her claws became surrounded by draconic energy.

"Iron Defense!" ordered Brandon and Regirock crossed its arms and used Iron Defense to weaken Dragon Claw, "Now Hammer Arm!" Like it had with Paul's Hariyama, Regirock pushed Latias away, pulled back one of the huge boulders that served as its hands and smashed the glowing boulder into Latias. Unlike Hariyama, Latias was strong enough to endure the attack.

"Mist Ball!" cried Tobias.

"Knock it back with Hammer Arm!" Brandon ordered and Latias fired another orb of mist, but Regirock punched it and sent it flying straight back into her, causing the psychic mist to waft over her. Because she was a Psychic type, Latias was more surprised than hurt, "Now use Lock On!" A red circle landed on Latias.

"Mist Ball!" cried Tobias and Latias fired another orb of Psychic mist.

"Stone Edge!" Brandon cried and Harry once again witnessed a Stone Edge Counter Shield. Although the mist that burst out of the Mist Ball when it hit the Stone Edge still hurt Regirock, the Legendary Golem ignored it and stopped using Stone Edge defensively, instead sending the sharp stones crashing into Latias.

"Recover!" ordered Tobias and Latias healed herself again.

"Stone Edge once more!" ordered Brandon and Regirock fired another Stone Edge which hit Latias just as she finished healing. She squealed in pain as Stone Edge sent her sprawling.

"Dragon Claw!" Tobias called and Latias darted back into the air, lunged and slashed at Regirock with her draconic claws.

"Iron Defense then Hammer Arm!" Brandon countered and Regirock deflected the attack and swung its huge right arm.

"Dodge it then Mist Ball!" Tobias ordered and Latias ducked, then fired Mist Ball at point blank range, covering Brandon's side of the battlefield in mist. Latias flew out of it unharmed.

"Stone Edge!" Brandon called and Tobias, having assumed the battle was over, was caught off guard when sharp stones shot out of the mist as it faded away. The attack smashed into the surprised Latias and knocked her down, "Hyper Beam!"

"Quick use Hyper Beam too!" bellowed Tobias and Regirock and Latias both charged and fired their Hyper Beams. The attacks collided and both trainers gritted their teeth. Then Latias' Hyper Beam began to overpower Regirock's. Tobias smirked. "Regirock may be Legendary, but that doesn't change the fact that its Special Attack is too low to match up to Latias." As he spoke, Latias' Hyper Beam gained greater intensity and overwhelmed Regirock's. Once it made contact with the yellow orb Regirock had between its rock-like hands, there was a massive explosion on Brandon's side of the battlefield.

"Regirock!" cried Brandon. Harry and Riolu stood up watching tensely for any sign of Regirock. The smoke cleared. Surprisingly Regirock was still standing. Brandon relaxed and smirked, "As powerful as Hyper Beam is, it's still a Normal type move."

"All right Latias, as soon as you've recharged use Dragon Claw!" ordered Tobias and Latias showed signs of impatience for the first time as she waited for the side effect of Hyper Beam to wear off. Once she had recharged, Latias darted forwards. Regirock stayed where it was, not wanting to risk slipping on the still frozen battlefield.

"Hammer Arm!" Brandon ordered and Regirock, not bothering to use Iron Defence this time, swung a mighty Hammer Arm into Latias' face as soon as she was close enough. Unfortunately for Latias, Regirock's arms were longer than hers, so her Dragon Claw never landed. She crashed onto the freezing battlefield.

"Latias is unable to battle, Regirock wins which means the victory goes to Pyramid King Brandon!"

Tobias looked disappointed for a moment but quickly recovered. He sighed and recalled Latias muttering, "Get some rest, Latias. We almost won." He looked at Brandon and nodded to him, "I'm glad to have battled someone else who can handle multiple Legendary Pokemon. Thank you."

"Thank you for a great battle," Brandon replied, "Well done to you too, Regirock. That last Hammer Arm was something to see." He recalled Regirock. Harry and Riolu stared at each other.

"I wish Ash, Dawn and Brock were here to see that," Harry said.

* * *

"I hope you don't mind if we wait until tomorrow before we train together," Brandon said to Harry outside the Battle Pyramid, "My Pokemon and I need a break."

"That's okay," Harry said, "I'll be back tomorrow." He looked up at Tobias. The man was mysterious and almost as intimidating as Brandon, but like the Pyramid King, he seemed to be a decent guy, "Thanks for letting me watch the battle."

"My pleasure," Tobias replied, "I assume you're planning to enter the Sinnoh League?"

"That's right," Harry replied.

"I'll see you there," Tobias said and raised a hand in farewell before leaving.

 **GarionRiva, I like to write my own version of anime battles which is why I do some of the canon characters battles in addition to Harry's. Basically I do them so that I can correct whatever I consider to be a mistake in the anime's version of the battle. If Harry had been present when Ash defeated Brandon, I would definitely have rewritten their battle so that Regice lost realistically, instead of receiving a OHKO right after using Rest, but I would have maintained the freezing the battlefield strategy.**


	50. Training with Brandon

Harry sat with Ash, Dawn, Brock, Candice and Zoey in a restaurant and told them about Brandon's battle with Tobias while they were eating. Zoey was leaving Snowpoint City the next day, so she had invited them all out to dinner before she left.

"He's got Darkrai, Latios and Latias?" Brock said and Harry nodded.

"Yeah and Brandon only barely defeated him," he replied.

"I battled Tobias while you lot were stopping the Legendary Golem's rampage," Candice said, "I didn't stand a chance."

"So he wants to enter the Sinnoh League?" Ash guessed.

"Why else would he be collecting badges?" Candice said.

"I'm surprised he's not a Frontier Brain, Elite 4 member or Champion already," Brock said.

"Well don't forget I actually had to beat Brandon before I was offered a chance to become a Frontier Brain," Ash reminded him.

"Yeah but you didn't have to battle all three of his Legendary Golems in one go," Brock replied.

* * *

Harry found Brandon training with Regigigas, Regirock, Regice and Registeel. Ash, Dawn and Brock had decided to stay in Snowpoint City, wanting to give Harry a chance to train privately with the Pyramid King. Also there was a Ping Pong Tournament coming up which the three of them were eager to enter with their Pokemon.

"Regigigas use Crush Grip on Regirock!" Brandon boomed and Regigigas grabbed Regirock and squeezed it very hard while its hands glowed yellow. Regirock started struggling until Regigigas put it down again. Even though Regirock was a Rock type, Crush Grip seemed to do decent damage, although Harry noted that Regirock had not used Iron Defence, "Good job."

"Regi," Regigigas nodded.

"Alright Regirock, Tobias was right about your Hyper Beam not being as strong as Latias'." Brandon told the Rock type Legendary Golem, "So to make up for that, we're going to start practicing Charge Beam."

"How will Charge Beam help?" asked Harry and Brandon turned to him. The Legendary Golem's did too.

"You're here early," said Brandon, "Regirock should learn Charge Beam because it has a high chance of raising a Pokemon's Special Attack power whenever it's used."

"I see," Harry replied.

"You know what, we'll worry about Charge Beam later." Brandon said to Regirock, "For now, all of you take a break." He recalled all of the Legendary Golems and focussed on Harry again, "So young man, you want to train with me. Well for starters, I need to know what Pokemon you have, apart from Riolu and Drifblim."

Harry released Chimchar, Glaceon, Leafeon, Bronzor and Gabite. Chimchar hopped onto her trainer's shoulder, Bronzor floated around him to show affection in the limited way that it could and Glaceon rubbed her head against his thigh.

"I've also got Spiritomb, Drapion, Floatzel, Luxray and Vespiquen back at grandfather's lab with Drifblim," Harry informed Brandon, "Candice implied that I should evolve Chimchar."

"Does your Chimchar want to evolve?" asked Brandon. Harry hesitated then looked at the Chimp Pokemon perched on his shoulder.

"Chimchar, do you feel ready to evolve yet?" Harry asked. Chimchar shook her head. Like Riolu she had nothing against her evolved forms – she was still friends with Monferno after all – but right now she was content in her current form.

"If it doesn't want to evolve don't force it," Brandon said, "Evolution helps Pokemon become stronger but it isn't essential." He thought for a moment, "Come with me." Harry recalled all his Pokemon except Riolu and followed Brandon into the Battle Pyramid.

* * *

In the battle room, Brandon turned to Harry on the opposite end of the battlefield and said, "Let me show you one of the Pokemon I own who doesn't want to evolve." He opened a Poke Ball and a small, ant like creature, lacking two of the six legs a real ant would have and with a giant head and powerful jaws appeared.

" _Trapinch the Ant Pit Pokemon. This Pokémon patiently waits for prey to tumble down its pit. It_ _can go a whole week without access to any water_."

"Trapinch can evolve into Vibrava and Flygon," Brandon said, "But my Trapinch is afraid of heights, so he doesn't want to evolve. Let me show you how strong he is."

"Okay," Harry said, "Gabite, take your position."

"Gabite," Gabite said as he emerged from the Poke Ball. He took one look at Trapinch and raised an eyebrow to Harry as if to say "Seriously?"

"Trapinch use Dig," ordered Brandon and Trapinch chomped his way underground with his huge jaws, literally eating the dirt as he went. Gabite smirked and dived into the ground after him, "Sand Tomb!" Trapinch's hole grew much wider and spread across most of the battlefield until Gabite accidentally tunnelled straight into the trap. Once the Sand Tomb caught hold of Gabite, the unfortunate Cave Pokemon was pulled down towards Trapinch.

"Gabite use Dragonbreath!" Harry called but Gabite, displaying his usual disobedience, just clawed furiously at the sand, trying to pull himself out. Realizing it wasn't working, Gabite instead turned towards Trapinch and lashed out with Dragon Claw once he reached the smaller Pokemon.

"Dodge it and use Superpower!" Brandon ordered and Trapinch jumped back, dodging the Dragon Claw with surprising speed. Then he glowed red and rammed into Gabite head first, before lifting him and running right up the side of the Sand Tomb. Trapinch controlled the Sand Tomb so, unlike Gabite, he was immune to its power and Superpower made his tiny body so powerful that he could lift Gabite up along with him as he ran up the side. Once he reached the lip of the Sand Tomb, Trapinch threw back his head and hurled Gabite all the way to the opposite side of the massive hole. Gabite crashed to the ground.

"Gabite," Gabite groaned as he pulled himself upright. He couldn't believe he was getting his tail handed to him by a _Trapinch_!

"Your Gabite definitely needs more training," Brandon said, "Trapinch use Quick Attack!" Trapinch shot around the edge of the huge hole with astonishing speed. Fortunately for Gabite, it took him a bit longer to reach him than it would have done if the hole wasn't in the way, so he managed to jump in time to avoid the attack, "Rock Slide!"

"Trap!" Trapinch said and raised his head as his body glowed white. A white ring of energy appeared above Gabite and several large grey boulders tumbled out of the ring on top of Gabite, sending him tumbling back into the pit. Before long, Gabite was buried under the rocks.

"Gabite!" Harry called into the pit. Brandon folded his arms.

Then Gabite burst out of the ground underneath Trapinch with a Dig attack. He was battered and bruised but now he was angry. This Trapinch was humiliating him! The smaller Pokemon was hurled into the air but landed on his feet. Gabite lashed out blindly with Dragon Claw.

"Onto the boulders!" bellowed Brandon and Trapinch dodged each Dragon Claw, before leaping away from Gabite and onto one of the boulders he had created with Rock Slide, which now filled up the pit in the middle of the battlefield.

"Gabite, you're not going to win if you just attack blindly!" Harry yelled but the furious Gabite leapt after Trapinch and onto one of the boulders. However the boulder shifted under his weight and he lost his balance, leaving himself open for Trapinch's finishing blow.

"Hyper Beam!" Brandon called and Trapinch opened his huge jaws and blasted a yellow beam right into Gabite's face, knocking him off the unsteady rocks and sending him sliding down the edge of the pit until he was wedged uncomfortably between the Sand Tomb and Rock Slide. Gabite lay there, unconscious. Trapinch jumped back to solid ground and looked down at the defeated Dragon type smugly.

"Wow that Trapinch is really strong," Harry said, impressed. He had to move around the pit in order to be at an angle where he could return Gabite to his Poke Ball.

"You see young man," Brandon said, "I've had Trapinch for ten years and in all that time, he has never wanted to evolve. Your Chimchar can be a formidable Pokemon without evolving, but you can't just rely on type advantage."

"I don't," Harry said.

"Did you rely entirely on Chimchar's Fire type moves during your battle with Candice?" asked Brandon.

"Yes," Harry admitted.

"In that case, you need to add more variety and unpredictability to your battling style," Brandon told him, "Using super effective moves and type advantage will only take you so far. Against skilled opponents, you need to do something they don't expect."

"Well Candice didn't expect my Riolu to know Aura Sphere," Harry said.

"That's good," Brandon said, "Unpredictability gives a trainer an edge in battle."

"Thanks for the advice," said Harry then looked at Gabite's Poke Ball, "Did you have trouble controlling Regirock, Registeel and Regice?"

"Yes," Brandon said, "But it got easier each time I added one of them to my team. Regirock was the first Legendary Pokemon I caught and was initially very difficult to control. Registeel was my second Legendary Pokemon and was also quite unruly. Training Regice was relatively easy in comparison, although I think it was humbled a bit when Ash defeated it. Regigigas… well you witnessed its rampage but at least it didn't take me weeks to gain its trust unlike with Regirock and Registeel."

"How long did it take you to gain Regice's trust?" Harry asked.

"Only a few days," Brandon said, "But Regice is much more trusting than Regirock and Registeel."

"How do I get Gabite's trust?" asked Harry.

"Well how often have you used him?" Brandon asked.

"Not very often," Harry admitted, "But that's partially because we're in a cold area and Gabite's a Dragon and Ground type."

"It's possible that Gabite may feel neglected," Brandon said, "If you don't spend time with him, he won't trust you and certainly won't respect you."

"Well I guess I should take him to the Pokemon Center," Harry said.

"No need," Brandon replied, "I have a medical room here and Samuel's a good doctor."

* * *

Gabite felt humiliated. Being a predator, he had actually eaten Trapinch in the past but Brandon's Trapinch had wiped the floor with him. At least against Riolu, Gabite had made the Emanation Pokemon work for his victory and against Mamoswine he was at a huge disadvantage.

"Gabite, are you okay?" asked Harry when Gabite woke up. The Cave Pokemon looked at him, then saw Brandon and snarled, "Don't be a sore loser," Harry said, trying to stop Gabite from leaping on Brandon. In retaliation, Gabite used Slash on his arm. Harry yelped but before Gabite could attack Brandon, Riolu rammed into him and he stumbled.

Brandon watched all this with a serious expression. Samuel cautiously approached Harry with a bandage. Gabite looked at Riolu, then the blood on his claw, then at Harry. He looked somehow defiant and apologetic at the same time.

"How long have you had Gabite?" Brandon asked.

"A couple of weeks," Harry said as Samuel bandaged his arm.

"What do you know of his personality?" asked Brandon.

"I know he loves battling," Harry said, "I know he's prideful. And right now, I've just learned he can be a sore loser."

"What about his favourite food?" asked Brandon, "His favourite colour?" Harry paused.

"I have no idea," he said.

"You should ask him," Brandon advised. Harry raised an eyebrow at him, then looked at Gabite.

"Gabite?" he said, "What's your favourite colour?" Gabite looked at his trainer silently. Then finally he pointed to the red part of his Poke Ball, "Red. Is that because you're a predator?" Gabite nodded. Harry felt uncomfortable; he'd only ever fed Gabite Pokemon food and wasn't sure how much he craved a more fleshy consumption, "You're not going to eat any Pokemon that aren't wild, are you?"

"Bite," Gabite shook his head. He'd never spent extended periods of time with humans, but he knew that many of them cared about their Pokemon very much. He remembered he had very nearly eaten a trainer's Bibarel once and the girl had pleaded with him not to. Since then Gabite only ate wild Pokemon.

* * *

Outside the Battle Pyramid, Harry took a risk by pitting Glaceon against Brandon's Registeel to check how skilled she was at using Mirror Coat. Registeel's Flash Cannon very nearly overpowered her, but when Glaceon sent it back at the Legendary Golem with double the power, Registeel was smashed right into the wall of the Battle Pyramid.

"Sorry," Harry said, wincing and glancing at Brandon in concern when he saw the massive dent Registeel's body had made in the metal.

"Don't worry about it," Brandon said and went to check on Registeel, while Harry stroked Glaceon's head fondly.

"If you can deflect a Legendary Pokemon's Flash Cannon, you can deflect any Special Attack," he said, "Well done, Glaceon."

"Glace," Glaceon smiled, although she looked ready to drop. It had taken all her strength to send back that Flash Cannon. Harry recalled her. Then he let out Gabite, who had recovered from his battle with Trapinch.

"Gabite you've gotten the hang of Dragon Rush now, haven't you?" Harry asked. Gabite nodded and then lunged right at his trainer surrounded by blue energy. Harry yelped and dodged. Gabite let the Dragon Rush fade and landed beside Riolu, who looked somewhere between amused and reproachful. Dragon Rush could hurt Harry a lot more than Brick Break, "Yeah you've got it."

"You know it seems to me that your Gabite relies on two many STAB moves," Brandon said.

"STAB moves?" Harry asked.

"Short for Same Type Attack Boost moves," Brandon said, "During our battle he used only Dragon type moves and Dig. What other moves does he know?"

"Take Down and Slash," Harry said.

"He needs to add a wider variety of moves to his fighting style," Brandon said, "Clearly he relies too much on raw strength. Trapinch was able to beat him so easily because he lacks finesse and unpredictability."

"Like me?" Harry asked.

"Not necessarily," said Brandon, "Riolu's knowledge of Aura Sphere is unpredictable to inexperienced trainers, even though it's a STAB move for his species. I think you just haven't paid enough attention to adapting Gabite's fighting style for different situations."

"It doesn't help that he ignores me most of the time," Harry muttered.

"You could teach him a Rock, Fire, Steel or Fighting type move," Brandon suggested, "Any one of those would be useful against Ice types."

"Well I've seen Cynthia's Garchomp using Brick Break," Harry said.

"Gabite can't learn Brick Break until he evolves into Garchomp," Brandon informed him, "However he can learn Rock Smash." Harry looked at Gabite.

"What do you say?" he asked, "Wanna learn Rock Smash?" Gabite grinned and nodded.

* * *

By the time Gabite mastered Rock Smash, Brandon's Regirock had to find a new stone to serve as its shoulder blade. Harry liked learning from Brandon and he was fond of the Legendary Golems. All four of them were actually very friendly and helpful. Harry hoped he would be able to catch at least one Legendary Pokemon some day.

Ash, Dawn and Brock visited him a few times over the next week. Dawn had tried to persuade him to enter the Pokemon Ping Pong Tournament back in Snowpoint City but Harry decided to continue his training instead. He rotated his Pokémon regularly so that all twelve of them could gain some experience with Brandon. For the first time, he also convinced Glaceon and Leafeon to separate by having one of them return to his grandfathers lab and the other remain with him. The only Pokémon Harry kept with him constantly during the training were Riolu and Gabite.

"Brandon, can I have another battle with you?" Harry asked the day before he was due to battle Candice a second time, which was also three days before Ash would battle Paul at Lake Acuity.

"Very well," said Brandon, "How many Pokemon?"

"Well I've never had a full battle before," Harry said, "The most Pokémon I've ever used in one battle is four."

"Do you want to allow substitutions?" Brandon asked.

"Paul made the mistake of letting you substitute Pokémon," Harry said, "So could we do this like an official battle?"

Brandon thought for a brief moment, since officially Harry should have collected the other six Frontier Symbols before challenging him to an official battle. Realistically however, both of them knew that Harry still needed to get much stronger before he would have a chance of actually beating Brandon. Ash had only been able to because Brandon had only just caught Regice when he battled him and Ash was using Pokémon who had far more experience than any of Harry's team. Harry wasn't fighting to win, but to make himself and his Pokémon stronger and perhaps learn more from his far stronger opponent.

* * *

"Alright trainers, this will be a full battle and the challenger is permitted to substitute Pokémon while the Frontier Brain may not," Samuel announced and raised his arms, "Begin!"

"Spiritomb, I need your assistance!" Brandon summoned his rare-enough-to-be-but-not-quite-Legendary Pokemon.

"Spiritomb, take your position!" Harry sent out his own Spiritomb. The two of them chuckled wickedly at each other, "Use Shadow Ball!" Spiritomb fired a Shadow Ball at Brandon's Spiritomb and blasted it backwards.

"Use Nasty Plot!" ordered Brandon and the pattern on Spiritomb's keystone glowed purple and a purple aura glowed around its entire body.

"What does that do?" asked Harry.

"You'll find out," Brandon replied.

"Dark Pulse!" Harry called.

"You too, Spiritomb!" Brandon commanded and the two Pokemon fired black rings at each other. Brandon's Spiritomb's Dark Pulse easily overpowered Harry's Spiritomb and slammed him into the wall, "Now use Will-O-Wisp!" Brandon's Spiritomb surrounded itself with blue flames and shot them at Harry's Spiritomb, who wailed in agony and collapsed.

"Harry's Spiritomb is unable to battle, Brandon's Spiritomb wins!" announced Samuel.

"Nasty Plot raised my Spiritomb's Special Attack by two levels," Brandon informed Harry, "Thanks to the boost, your Spiritomb didn't stand a chance."

"Spiritomb return," Harry said, "Good work. Glaceon, take your position!" Glaceon burst out of her Poke Ball, "Ice Shard!" The Fresh Snow Pokémon sharpened her fur and shot out sharp shards of ice from her body, knocking Spiritomb backwards.

"Hypnosis!" ordered Brandon and Spiritomb's vortex like body spun and sent out hypnotic waves, putting Glaceon to sleep, "Now Dream Eater!" Spiritomb shot a shadowy version of itself, without its keystone, towards Glaceon. The Nasty Plot boosted Dream Eater sucked away a lot of Glaceon's energy.

"Glaceon, wake up!" Harry yelled but Glaceon continued sleeping, unaware of the danger she was in.

"Dark Pulse!" ordered Brandon and another powerful Dark Pulse sent Glaceon flying into the wall.

"Glaceon is unable to battle, Spiritomb wins!"

"That's okay, Glaceon," Harry said as he recalled her, "You can't use Mirror Coat while you're asleep. Leafeon, take your position!" Glaceon's overprotective brother appeared and glared at Spiritomb, "Leaf Blade!" Leafeon lunged forwards and slashed Spiritomb, first with the leaf on his head, then with the leaf that served as his tail.

"Hypnosis!" Brandon ordered but Harry had been expecting that.

"Sunny Day!" he called and Leafeon shot a beam into the air which formed into a miniature sun while Spiritomb's vortex like body started to spin. The Hypnosis washed over Leafeon but Leaf Guard blocked it.

"Will-O-Wisp!" ordered Brandon and Spiritomb shot searing hot flames which were made even more powerful by Sunny Day and Nasty Plot. These flames where so hot that Harry and Leafeon could feel the heat from the other end of the battlefield.

"Get in close and use Leaf Blade!" Harry ordered and like he had with Fantina's Drifblim, Leafeon fearlessly weaved his way between the flames, avoiding them all and catching both Spiritomb and Brandon off guard. Another double Leaf Blade sent Spiritomb crashing to the ground.

"Now that was some real courage," Brandon said approvingly, "I've never seen a Grass type show such bravery in the face of a such a powerful Will-O-Wisp! Dark Pulse!" Spiritomb fired a powerful Dark Pulse which sent Leafeon crashing to the ground. Leafeon groaned but managed to pick himself up.

"Use Shadow Ball!" Harry yelled and Leafeon fired a black orb at Spiritomb.

"Dark Pulse!" ordered Brandon and Spiritomb's Dark Pulse blasted through Shadow Ball as though it wasn't there.

"Dodge and use Leaf Blade!" Harry ordered and Leafeon jumped over the Dark Pulse and swung the glowing leaf on his head at Spiritomb, slashing it across the face. Out of habit, Leafeon used his tail as well but didn't need to because Spiritomb was already unconscious.

"Spiritomb is unable to battle, Leafeon wins!"

"Get some rest, Spiritomb," Brandon said, "Dusclops, I need your assistance!" A Pokémon that looked like a cross between a mummy and a Cyclops appeared.

" _Dusclops the Beckon Pokémon and evolved form of Duskull. It is thought that its body is hollow with only a spectral ball of fire burning inside. However, no one has been able to confirm this theory as fact._ "

"Shadow Ball!" ordered Harry and Leafeon fired a Shadow Ball which slammed into Dusclops. Dusclops just blinked its single eye, unimpressed.

"Shadow Punch!" ordered Brandon and Dusclops clenched one of its large fists and thrust it forwards, sending a shadowy fist out of its real fist and nailing Leafeon in the face with Shadow Punch, knocking him out.

"Leafeon is unable to battle, Dusclops wins!"

"Great work Leafeon," Harry said, "Floatzel take your position!" Floatzel appeared and grinned at Dusclops.

"Shadow Punch!" ordered Brandon and Dusclops thrust forth another Shadow Punch.

"Bulk Up!" Harry ordered and Floatzel inflated his sac and glowed red. Shadow Punch slammed into his thick sac, but Floatzel just smirked, "Ice Fang!" Floatzel opened his mouth and his fangs extended far beyond their natural length, striking Dusclops. Floatzel then retracted the fangs while Dusclops staggered back, "That was a perfect Ice Fang ,Floatzel. Now use Aqua Jet!"

"Float!" cried Floatzel and surrounded himself with water, shot forwards and slammed into Dusclops, knocking him off his feet. Dusclops rolled over and struggled back to his feet before turning back to Floatzel.

"Mean Look!" ordered Brandon and Dusclops eye glowed black and a ring shot out of it and surrounded Floatzel. Harry raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Ice Fang!" he ordered and Floatzel extended another Ice Fang, this time freezing Dusclops.

"No problem Dusclops, just use Will-O-Wisp!" ordered Brandon and Dusclops formed a huge blue flame from inside his icy prison, melting the ice very quickly before shooting the flame at Floatzel. Although it was a Fire type move, Floatzel still yelled in pain, "Now Confuse Ray!"

"Duuuuscloops!" rumbled Dusclops and his eye glowed purple and shot a purple ray which confused Floatzel. Floatzel groaned and started banging his head with his fists.

"Floatzel snap out of it!" Harry yelled.

"Shadow Punch!" Brandon boomed.

"Bulk Up!" Harry shouted but Floatzel was too busy banging himself on the head to pay attention to the command. Shadow Punch slammed into his stomach and since he had not inflated his sac, Floatzel had the wind knocked out of him. He suddenly caught fire again as the burn from Will-O-Wisp kicked in. "Floatzel return!" Harry held out a Poke Ball and tried to recall Floatzel but it didn't work. Harry looked at the Poke Ball in confusion, then understood why Brandon had ordered Dusclops to use the harmless Mean Look.

"Night Shade!" boomed Brandon and Dusclops eye glowed black and a huge black beam shot out of it and struck Floatzel, sending him flying into the wall. Floatzel groaned and collapsed.

"Floatzel's unable to battle, Dusclops wins!"

"Get some rest, Floatzel," Harry said and recalled him, "Gabite, take your position!" Gabite emerged and glared at Brandon and Dusclops, "Dragonbreath!"

"Night Shade!" Brandon countered and Dusclops' Night Shade smashed through Dragonbreath and sent Gabite flying, "Dusclops' Night Shade is strong enough to block a Charizard's Flamethrower. You'll have to do a lot better in order to beat him."

"Alright then, Gabite use Dig!" Harry ordered and Gabite dived into the ground.

"Get ready, Dusclops!" Brandon called and Dusclops braced himself.

"Dragon Rush from underground!" Harry ordered and Gabite exploded out of the ground, surrounded by blue light. Dusclops had been bracing himself for a normal Dig attack, so being hit with an underground Dragon Rush had caught him off guard. The scary Ghost type showed a twinge of fear and Harry took advantage of Dragon Rush's side effect, "Dragon Claw!"

"Gabite!" roared Gabite and slashed Dusclops with his claw, which was surrounded by blue, draconic energy. At last, Dusclops was defeated.

"Dusclops is unable to battle, Gabite wins!" said Samuel.

"Excellent work Dusclops, you get some rest," Brandon said, "Regigigas, I need your assistance!" This was the first time Brandon had used his newly caught Legendary Pokemon in battle. Harry felt quite honoured to be the first trainer to ever battle it under Brandon's ownership.

"Rock Smash!" Harry ordered and Gabite leapt and his claw glowed white. He smashed it as hard as he could into Regigigas, but the Collossal Pokemon was so big that it just stood there and took the super effective move like it was nothing.

"Ice Punch!" ordered Brandon and Regigigas slammed a super effective Ice Punch into Gabite who crashed to the ground.

"Gabite is unable to battle, Regigigas wins!" announced Samuel.

"Thanks for listening to me, Gabite," Harry said, "And taking out Dusclops was great. Riolu are you ready?" Riolu nodded. He didn't even reach Regigigas' knee but he looked unflinchingly at the massive Pokemon. Harry remembered when Riolu had been intimidated by Roark's Rampardos. He had grown braver during their journey, "Aura Sphere!" Riolu threw an Aura Sphere which slammed into Regigigas. Like Rock Smash, it didn't seem to do much damage despite being super effective.

"Hyper Beam!" boomed Brandon and Regigigas put its hands together and fired a massive Hyper Beam from between its hands at Riolu.

"Dodge it and use Copycat!" Harry yelled and Riolu jumped. The explosion from the Hyper Beam was so big that he was propelled upwards and Harry was nearly knocked off his feet, but Riolu wasn't hurt by the blast, instead just riding it to gain extra height. He opened his mouth as he mimicked Regigigas' Hyper Beam and fired one of his own straight down into the space between Regigigas Braille patterned eyes. This time Regigigas took a step back when it was hit by the attack.

"Riolu may have used Copycat to fire that Hyper Beam, but it still has to recharge just like Regigigas," Brandon pointed out. The two Pokemon simply stood there for a moment, recharging their power. Regigigas recovered first, "Use Thunder Punch!" Regigigas aimed its massive, electrified fist down at Riolu.

"Spin!" Harry called and Riolu leapt towards the incoming Thunder Punch and spun in mid-air, passing the electrified fist harmlessly. Brandon raised an eyebrow in surprise. Riolu stopped spinning and turned around in mid-air. "Aura Sphere!" Riolu blasted Regigigas from behind with Aura Sphere and the huge Pokémon lost its balance, throwing out an arm to break its fall, "Now get on its head and use Force Palm!"

"Rio!" cried Riolu and landed behind Regigigas before springing forwards and climbing swiftly up its giant body to its head. Once he was on top of it, Riolu slammed both palms down, blasting Regigigas with a double Force Palm and knocking it onto its knees before flipping himself off the Legendary Golem and landing in front of it.

"Crush Grip!" ordered Brandon and Regigigas reached out and its hands glowed yellow. It moved a lot faster than it had so far in the battle and Harry remembered the mysterious increase in Speed it had when it smashed its way out of Snowpoint Temple. Regigigas grabbed Riolu, picked him up and started to squeeze whilst yellow energy surrounded Riolu's body.

"Counter!" Harry yelled and Riolu turned red and tried to turn Regigigas' own attack against it. However the Collossal Pokemon just squeezed tighter. Riolu screamed as Regigigas nearly crushed his tiny body. The red glow of the failed Counter faded as he fainted. Regigigas stopped squeezing and placed him gently on the ground. Harry stared at the unconscious Riolu in shock. "Just one hit? And how did Regigigas suddenly get so fast anyway?"

"I've decided to call that Ability Slow Start," Brandon said, "Regigigas needs time to build up its true power and Speed but if you can't knock it out before Slow Start wears off, your chances of beating it are very slim. As for Crush Grip, that move causes more damage to Pokemon that have more energy. Your Riolu wasn't hit at all until it was used which is why Counter didn't work."

"I see," Harry said, then went over to Riolu. The Emanation Pokemon was still out cold. Harry shook him gently and he opened his eyes painfully, "Good battle, Riolu. You literally forced Regigigas to its knees with that double Force Palm." Riolu smiled weakly.

"That was an enjoyable battle, kid," Brandon said, "I think you have a good chance of getting into the Sinnoh League, but you'll need to get a lot stronger in order to get a chance to officially challenge the Elite 4."

"Thanks Brandon," Harry said, then paused, "Just out of interest, have you ever been interested in becoming a Pokemon Champion? I'm sure you could be a Champion."

"I think the publicity would drive me mad," Brandon replied, "Besides, if I was a Champion I'd have much less time to explore ruins. Being a Frontier Brain's good enough for me."

"I see," Harry said.

* * *

When Harry returned to Snowpoint City he learned that Dawn's Ambipom was having a dilemma. Having enjoyed Snowpoint City's Ping Pong tournament, she was trying to decide whether to continue performing in contests or leave Dawn and pursue her Ping Pong talent. The Ping Pong Tournament winner O was leaving for Kanto the next day and had offered to take Ambipom with him for training. Ambipom needed to make her decision before Harry's Gym battle.

 **Does anyone know if using Hyper Beam, Giga Impact etc via Copycat forces a Pokémon to recharge, or if using Copycat cancels out that side effect?**


	51. Rematch with Candice

Ambipom eventually decided to stay with Dawn and continue her contest training. Both Dawn and Ash were relieved, although of course they wouldn't have stopped Ambipom if she had decided to leave. Once O had left, a little disappointed that Ambipom had chosen contests over Ping Pong, the group went to the Snowpoint Gym for Harry's rematch with Candice. Like their previous battle, this one was a four on four battle and Harry could switch Pokemon but Candice couldn't.

"I know you've been training with Brandon," said Candice, "But I've got a surprise up my sleeve. Go Weavile!" The evolved form of Sneasel burst out of her Poke Ball and smirked.

"So your Sneasel's evolved," Harry said. Riolu was about to step forwards but sensed that Harry had someone else in mind, "Chimchar, take your position!" The Chimp Pokemon appeared.

"Begin!" said the referee.

"Chimchar use Flamethrower!" ordered Harry and Chimchar fired a stream of flames at Weavile.

"Agility!" called Candice. Weavile was even faster than she was as a Sneasel, moving in a blur of dark fur and red feathers to avoid Chimchar's attack, "Weavile, Night Slash!" Weavile's claws glowed purple and she lunged at Chimchar, slashing her with the purple claws and knocking her off her feet.

"Flame Wheel!" ordered Harry and Chimchar rolled into a wheel of fire.

"Agility!" ordered Candice and Weavile darted away once more, "Night Slash again Weavile!"

"Acrobatics!" ordered Harry and Weavile's Night Slash passed through one of the after-images Chimchar left behind before the Chimp Pokemon bounced off her head and somersaulted away, "Now Flamethrower!" Chimchar blasted Weavile from behind with Flamethrower causing her to screech in pain.

"Weavile use Aerial Ace!" called Candice and Weavile surrounded herself with white streaks and slammed into Chimchar, smashing her into an ice rock, "Follow up with Night Slash!" Weavile slashed Chimchar again and she hit the ground hard.

Then she activated Blaze. Candice and Weavile tensed in anticipation, but Harry's next command caught them both off guard.

"Vacuum Wave!" Harry called and Chimchar jumped into the air and spun around, causing wind to surround her before shooting a shock wave from the wind straight at Weavile, who was so surprised that Chimchar wasn't taking advantage of Blaze that she didn't move in time. Vacuum Wave blasted Weavile into an ice rock, knocking her out.

"Weavile is unable to battle, Chimchar wins!"

"That was smart," Brock said, "Harry knew that once Blaze activated, Candice would be expecting a Fire type move so she was completely unprepared for Vacuum Wave."

"Not bad," Candice said, "I wasn't expecting you to ignore Blaze when it activated," she looked at Weavile's Poke Ball as she recalled her, "Nice work Weavile. Okay Medicham let's go!" Medicham jumped confidently out of its Poke Ball.

"Nice work Chimchar return," Harry said and recalled her, "I'll save you for later. Bronzor take your position!" Bronzor appeared.

"Medicham use Hi Jump Kick!" ordered Candice and Medicham leapt towards Bronzor.

"Iron Defense!" Harry called and Bronzor hardened its body just before impact. The Hi Jump Kick still knocked it backwards, "Flash Cannon!"

"Light Screen!" ordered Candice and Medicham surrounded itself with a yellow box of light while Bronzor fired a silver beam from its face. Light Screen absorbed half of the damage.

"Gyro Ball!" Harry called and Bronzor spun rapidly towards Medicham.

"Medicham Reflect!" ordered Candice and Medicham formed a blue box and Bronzor bounced off it. Harry gritted his teeth; Medicham hadn't known Reflect when it battled Ash's Staraptor, "Use Ice Punch!" Medicham slammed its freezing fist into Bronzor, knocking it backwards.

"Bronzor, Metal Sound!" Harry shouted and Bronzor released loud sound waves which washed over Medicham, causing her to cover her ears from the horrible noise. "Now Flash Cannon!" Bronzor blasted Medicham with a silver beam and although Light Screen held, Medicham was pushed back into an ice rock by the attack.

"Medicham Hi Jump Kick!" cried Candice and Medicham leapt into the air and aimed its knee at Bronzor.

"Dodge it!" Harry called and instead of defending itself, Bronzor levitated to the side causing Medicham to fly past it and smash its knee into a rock. Medicham winced in pain, "Metal Sound!" Bronzor let out more sound waves and lowering Medicham's Special Defense two more levels.

"Medicham use Focus Blast!" ordered Candice and Medicham created a blue orb and hurled it at Bronzor.

"Light Screen!" Harry called and Bronzor set up the defensive barrier and the Focus Blast exploded against it.

"Ice Punch!" Medicham's fist was surrounded by icy energy. It winced from its injured knee but managed to jump towards Bronzor.

"Iron Defense!" Harry called and Bronzor raised his Defense again. This time Ice Punch didn't even knock him backwards. Medicham landed on the battlefield looking frustrated, "Flash Cannon!" Bronzor fired another silver beam from its face. Light Screen appeared but thanks to the Special Defence loss from Bronzor's Metal Sound, Medicham was still smashed into an ice rock and knocked out.

"Medicham is unable to battle, Bronzor wins!"

"Thanks for fighting hard, Medicham," Candice said, "Go Frosslass!" Frosslass appeared.

"Bronzor Gyro Ball!" Harry ordered and Bronzor spun rapidly towards Frosslass and slammed into her... or more precisely into Medicham's Reflect which Harry had forgotten about. Frosslass was still knocked backwards by the super effective attack, but thanks to Reflect she hadn't taken nearly as much damage as she normally would.

"Frosslass, Shadow Ball!" ordered Candice and Frosslass blasted Bronzor with Shadow Ball at point blank range. Fortunately Bronzor's Light Screen appeared to absorb half of the damage. Ironically as soon as Bronzor's Light Screen appeared to weaken Shadow Ball, Medicham's Light Screen wore off, leaving Frosslass unprotected against Special Attacks.

"Flash Cannon!" Harry ordered and Bronzor turned, its face glowing silver as it did so, and fired the silver beam blasting Frosslass backwards and causing her a squeal of pain, "Now use Gyro Ball!" Bronzor spun rapidly towards Frosslass.

"Go through the ice rock!" Candice ordered and Frosslass floated backwards before passing straight through an ice rock behind her. Bronzor slammed into the hard ice and the icy shield knocked it backwards, stunning it for a moment. Frosslass floated up over the ice rock, looking slightly amused. Then both Bronzor's Light Screen and Medicham's Reflect wore off, "Shadow Ball!"

"Frosslaaaass!" Frosslass sang and forming a Shadow Ball between her hands. She hurled it at Bronzor and knocked it out.

"Bronzor is unable to battle, Frosslass wins!"

"Nice work Bronzor, get some rest," Harry said, "Chimchar take your position!" Chimchar appeared again, ready for another battle.

"Frosslass Attract!" ordered Candice and Frosslass winked and shot pink hearts at Chimchar. Chimchar just folded her arms, unimpressed. Candice and Frosslass were both surprised, "You're Chimchar's female?"

"Unusual right?" Harry said, "Which makes her all the more special. Flamethrower!" Chimchar fired a stream of flames at Frosslass.

"Frosslass dodge and use Shadow Ball!" ordered Candice and Frosslass levitated above Flamethrower and hurled a black orb at Chimchar.

"Bounce off it then Flame Wheel!" Harry called and Chimchar sprang into the air, bounced off the Shadow Ball and somersaulted towards Frosslass in flames.

"Destiny Bond!" ordered Candice and Frosslass' eyes glowed purple just before Chimchar made contact, enabling the Snow Land to take the Chimp Pokemon down with her when the Flame Wheel knocked her out.

"Frosslass and Chimchar are both unable to battle!"

"Well done Chimchar," Harry said then looked at Riolu. Riolu nodded and stepped onto the battlefield.

"Thanks Frosslass," said Candice, "Alright Abomasnow let's go!" The large Frost Tree Pokemon appeared with her arms folded like usual.

"Riolu use Quick Attack!" Harry ordered and Riolu darted towards Abomasnow who brushed him off without much effort.

"Wood Hammer!"

"Counter!"

Abomasnow glowed green and slammed into Riolu only to be thrown back by the smaller Pokemon's Counter. Abomasnow took even more damage than usual with the added recoil effect.

"Hang in there!" called Candice, "Blizzard!" Abomasnow fired a freezing Blizzard and Riolu shivered, unable to move because of the cold, "Now use Water Pulse!" Abomasnow stopped blowing Blizzard and slammed Water Pulse into the ground instead.

"Dodge it!" yelled Harry and Riolu jumped to avoid the wave, only to find Abomasnow had made a smaller, but still surprisingly high jump in order to get closer to him.

"Ice Punch!"

"Use Force Palm!"

Both Pokemon collided and the explosion knocked them backwards. Abomasnow skidded backwards and Riolu slammed into an ice block.

"Water Pulse now!" ordered Candice and this time Abomasnow used Water Pulse in the form of an orb. It slammed into Riolu and water exploded out of it and washed around both sides of the ice rock. When the water pressure relented, Riolu slumped to the ground.

"Riolu is unable to battle, Abomasnow wins!"

"Nice work Riolu," Harry said, "Don't worry Glaceon has this battle in the bag. Take your position!" Glaceon appeared and looked up at the larger Ice type. She smiled sweetly. If Spiritomb couldn't frighten Glaceon then neither could Abomasnow, especially since the latter was tired, "Glaceon Ice Shard!"

"Glay," cried Glaceon and her fur stiffened into icy needles which she then fired at Abomasnow.

"Blizzard!" ordered Candice and Abomasnow used Blizzard to turn Glaceon's own Ice Shard against her, giving it more power with the powerful wind. Glaceon winced.

"Use Tackle!" ordered Harry and Glaceon charged straight through the Blizzard and slammed into Abomasnow. Despite being hit with a very basic move, Abomasnow stumbled, having been worn down from battling Riolu.

"Ice Punch!" ordered Candice and Abomasnow knocked Glaceon away with her freezing fist, "Now use Wood Hammer!" Abomasnow slammed her full body weight into Glaceon, wincing as the recoil side effect kicked in, and hurled Glaceon into an ice block.

"Glaceon Ice Shard!" Harry called and this time Glaceon's Ice Shard struck the worn out Abomasnow before she could counter it.

"Ice Punch!" yelled Candice and Abomasnow made another surprising leap, crossing the distance between her and Glaceon and pulling back her fist.

"Dodge it!" Harry called and Glaceon leapt aside, giggling playfully as she skidded along the ice.

"Keep up the Ice Punch's Abomasnow!" yelled Candice and Abomasnow swung at Glaceon again and again but the more agile Ice type avoided every punch.

"Jump!" Harry called and Glaceon suddenly jumped and bounced off Abomasnow's head.

"Quick Abomasnow use Razor Leaf!" ordered Candice and Abomasnow turned and fired sharp leaves from her body at the air-borne Glaceon who squealed in pain and surprise. "Now use Wood Hammer!" Abomasnow thundered towards Glaceon and slammed her full weight into her whilst glowing green. Glaceon skidded along the slippery ground before cleverly sharpening her fur in order to anchor herself before she made a headlong collision with one of the ice rocks. Meanwhile Abomasnow winced from the recoil damage. "Finish her with Ice Punch!"

"Aboma!" boomed Abomasnow, clenching her icy fist and thundering towards Glaceon, who by now looked as tired as she was.

"Dodge it!" called Harry and despite her exhaustion, Glaceon dodged Ice Punch easily. Abomasnow lashed out clumsily but Glaceon ducked before jumping back from another Ice Punch. Abomasnow was strong but she was too slow to keep up with the more agile Glaceon, especially in her exhausted state. However Glaceon was equally exhausted, so Harry knew he needed to finish this battle right now, "Glaceon use Ice Beam!"

"Glaaaceee!" Glaceon cried and fired Ice Beam but the three beams were not as controlled as those of more experienced users of the attack. She had only started learning Ice Beam the previous day, having been inspired to learn it by Brandon's Regice. However she hadn't had time to master it before Harry returned to Snowpoint City. Only one of the beams actually hit Abomasnow, with the other two shooting off in random directions, but it was enough to defeat the exhausted Frost Tree Pokémon. Nonetheless Glaceon frowned, unsatisfied with her Ice Beam even though it had knocked out Abomasnow.

"Abomasnow is unable to battle, Glaceon wins!" cried the referee, "The victory goes to Harry Rowan!"

"Yes!" Harry said triumphantly and Glaceon bounded joyfully towards him. She was heavier than she had been as an Eevee but still light enough for Harry to catch her when she jumped on him for a hug, "Well done Glaceon. Your Ice Beam needs more work but apart from that you were great."

"Glaceon," Glaceon said and licked him fondly. Candice recalled Abomasnow and smiled.

"You fought to the finish Abomasnow," she said, "Thank you." Like she had with Ash, she skated across the battlefield to give Harry his Gym Badge, "Well done Harry, although your Glaceon's Ice Beam was a bit uncontrolled. Still you've earned the Icicle Badge."

"Thanks Candice," Harry said and took the badge from her and put it in his badge case. When he looked back at Candice, she looked hesitant.

"I could help your Glaceon master Ice Beam," Candice offered, "I'd be willing to take her in and train her for a while."

"No thank you," Harry said.

"Are you sure?" asked Candice, "I can help Glaceon get control of Ice Beam."

"You're a great trainer but Glaceon can master Ice Beam without you," Harry said confidently.

"What if I offered you a trade?" Candice persisted, "I'd be willing to give you my Frosslass."

"I'm sorry but you can't have my Glaceon," Harry said firmly, "One; I'm too fond of her to give her away and two; Leafeon would kill me if I did." Candice relented.

"Okay," she said a little sadly, "I just always wanted a Glaceon."

"Maybe you should visit Mr Backlot's garden," Harry suggested, "That's where I caught Glaceon as an Eevee and Leafeon. There might be another Eevee there who'd be happy to evolve into Glaceon."

"Maybe I'll do that," Candice said.

 **Whoever reminded me about Luxray, thank you. The trouble with having so many Pokémon is that it's easy to forget some of them.**

 **QUEENSPELLER67 I know that Will-O-Wisp is a burning move, but if you read and remember my authors note in Fighting Fantina, I'm having it work the same way as Inferno in this story, since it was able to cause direct damage in the anime and even affected Fire types.**

 **Since Harry owns a Gabite, should I have Ash catch Gible or just continue with the Pokémon he has?**


	52. Ash and Paul's First Full Battle

It took the group a day to reach Lake Acuity. Reggie and Paul greeted them at the Pokemon Center, or more precisely Reggie greeted them and Paul just grunted. The group all slept in the Pokemon Center, although the two brothers slept apart from Harry, Ash, Dawn and Brock.

Harry spent most of the next morning helping Glaceon aim her Ice Beam more accurately. Glaceon was still having trouble making all the beams go in the same direction. She was getting frustrated; mastering Ice Shard had been effortless for her so why was Ice Beam so hard?

"You're getting there," Harry assured her when Glaceon managed to fire two of the three beams in one direction while the third shot randomly off to the side. Glaceon looked at her third beam critically then saw Reggie approaching out of the corner of her eye.

"Reggie," Ash said, "Is Paul ready for our battle yet?"

"He's waiting at the lake," Reggie said and looked at Glaceon, "You know Harry, I think Glaceon's problem is that she focusses too much on the beam going in the wrong direction and not enough on the beams going in the right direction. If she focusses on the beams going in the right direction instead of the stray ones, they should all go where she wants them to go."

"Are you sure?" Harry asked.

"Let me see it again," Reggie suggested. Harry nodded to Glaceon and she tried another Ice Beam. Once again her eyes flicked to the one beam that went in the wrong direction rather than the two beams that went in the right direction, "Yep, there's your problem. Glaceon looks at the stray beam rather than the beams she has under control."

"Okay we'll work on that," Harry said, "But now it's time for Ash and Paul's battle. Glaceon return and take a break." Glaceon nodded as Harry recalled her. The group went to Lake Acuity, where Paul was waiting for them.

"I'll be the judge," Reggie said. Paul opened his mouth, caught his brother's eye, and closed it with a dismissive grunt, "Dawn you've got a Coin Toss App on your Poketch haven't you?"

"Yep," Dawn said, "So who's heads and who's tails?" Her finger hovered over the Poketch on her wrist.

"Heads," Ash said.

"Tails," grunted Paul. Dawn pressed the button.

"Tails," she said, "Paul picks first."

"Ninjask, stand by for battle!" Paul said and sent out a small Bug with sharp claws and wings which flapped extremely quickly. Harry took out his pokedex.

" _Ninjask the Ninja Pokemon and an evolved form of Nincada._ _Because it darts about vigorously at high speed, it can be very difficult to see. Hearing its distinctive cries for too long induces headaches_."

"Gliscor I choose you!" Ash sent out his Gliscor who landed on her tail. Ash and Paul glanced at Reggie.

"Begin," Reggie said.

"Gliscor use Steel Wing!" ordered Ash and Gliscor's wings turned to steel as she flew at Ninjask.

"Dodge then Swords Dance!" called Paul and Ninjask darted above Gliscor. It then crossed its claws which glowed purple and extended, before spinning on the spot.

"Fire Fang!" ordered Ash and Gliscor's teeth blazed as she lunged at Ninjask.

"Dodge and use Slash!" ordered Paul and Ninjask darted behind Gliscor again before slashing her with its small but sharp claws.

"Gliscor X-Scissor!" ordered Ash and Gliscor regained her balance and crossed her claws. She slashed Ninjask with them and knocked it backwards but the Ninja Pokemon righted itself quickly, taking little damage.

"Baton Pass!" Paul ordered and Ninjask glowed red. Then a red beam, identical to the beam of a Poke Ball, extended from its body and connected with its Poke Ball, sucking Ninjask back inside, "Breloom stand by for battle!" A Grass and Fighting type with short arms, strong legs, a long tail and a mushroom on its head with a red orb on one side appeared.

" _Breloom the Mushroom Pokemon and the evolved form of Shroomish._ _It closes in on its foe with light and sprightly footwork, then throws punches with its stretchy arms_."

"I didn't know Paul had a Breloom," Harry muttered.

"Breloom defeated Roark's Onix when Paul challenged the Oreburgh Gym and Ash's Staravia right after Chimchar went on his first Blaze rampage," Brock said.

"Be careful of Breloom's Counter, Gliscor," Ash warned, remembering that Breloom had defeated Staravia by using that move when Staravia hit it with Aerial Ace, "Use Sand Attack!"

"Mach Punch!" said Paul and Breloom shot forwards so fast that Gliscor didn't have time to use Sand Attack before Breloom's fist slammed into her and sent her flying.

"Woah!" said Harry, "That was so fast!"

"And Mach Punch shouldn't have done much damage to a Flying type," Dawn said.

"Breloom's stronger and faster than usual because Ninjask passed the effects of Swords Dance and its Speed Boost ability onto it when it used Baton Pass," Brock explained, "Not only that but Mach Punch has great speed anyway."

"Gliscor Steel Wing!" Ash called and Gliscor flew down and slammed into Breloom with her silver wings.

"Leech Seed!" ordered Paul and Breloom fired a seed from the orb on its mushroom which landed on Gliscor and used vines to start draining her energy, "Now use Mach Punch!" Breloom darted forwards with that amazing speed and punched Gliscor hard.

"Gliscor return!" Ash recalled Gliscor before the Leech Seed could become too much of a problem. Once Gliscor was inside her Poke Ball the seed and vines fell to the ground, "Staraptor I choose you!" Staraptor burst out of his Poke Ball.

"Mach Punch!" ordered Paul and Breloom shot forwards and punched Staraptor before he could do anything.

"Brave Bird!" Ash called and Staraptor dived and was surrounded by red energy before spreading his wings and turning the energy blue.

"Counter!" ordered Paul but the sheer power of the Brave Bird, as well as the fact that it was doubly super effective, was too much Breloom. The Mushroom Pokemon held its ground for about two seconds before it was overwhelmed and sent crashing to the ground. Staraptor flew up and winced as the recoil damage hurt him.

"Breloom is unable to battle," Reggie announced, "Staraptor wins!" Paul shrugged dismissively and recalled his Pokemon.

"Honchkrow stand by for battle!" he called and Staraptor's eyes narrowed as Honchkrow appeared and smirked at him, "Aerial..."

"Ace!" Ash finished and both Flying types collided.

"Dark Pulse!" Paul ordered and Honchkrow fired black rings from its beak.

"Dodge with Quick Attack!" Ash called and Staraptor shot straight up, "Now Aerial Ace!" Staraptor circled back around and smashed into Honchkrow, using the speed from Quick Attack to increase his speed and power.

"Critical hit!" Brock said as Honchkrow crashed to the ground.

"Staraptor Brave Bird!" ordered Ash and Staraptor dived towards the stunned Honchkrow.

"Haze!" Paul ordered and Honchkrow shot out black smoke before dodging the attack whilst Staraptor was distracted.

"Blow it away with Whirlwind!" ordered Ash and Staraptor flapped his wings blowing the Haze away but Honchkrow's distraction had given it enough time to get behind him.

"Night Slash!" ordered Paul and Honchkrow's wings glowed purple as it flew towards Staraptor.

"Grab it then Close Combat!" countered Ash, having expected Honchkrow to attack from behind. Staraptor turned and caught both of Honchkrow's wings in his talons, catching it off guard. Then Staraptor looped and threw Honchkrow onto the ground before diving and attacking with his wings, beak and talons.

"Night Slash!" Paul shouted again and since Staraptor was just attacking recklessly, he didn't have time to grab Honchkrow's wing before the Big Boss Pokemon knocked him away. Honchkrow quickly flew back into the sky.

"Staraptor use Quick Attack!" ordered Ash and Staraptor flew after Honchkrow, white energy trailing behind him as he picked up speed.

"Dodge it!" Paul ordered and Honchkrow barely avoided Quick Attack causing Staraptor to shoot past it, "Dark Pulse!" Honchkrow blasted Staraptor with Dark Pulse.

"Use Aerial Ace!" ordered Ash and Staraptor righted himself before he hit the ground and circled back around before slamming into Honchkrow.

"Sky Attack!" ordered Paul and Honchkrow glowed white and flew towards Staraptor.

"Brave Bird!" ordered Ash and Staraptor glowed red then turned blue just before he collided with Honchkrow. There was a huge explosion and both Pokemon fell towards the ground and landed hard. There was a short silence while Reggie analysed their condition.

"Staraptor and Honchkrow are both unable to battle!" he announced.

"Well Staraptor was knocked out but he took two of Paul's Pokemon down with him," Harry said, "So far Ash is doing well."

"Okay Pikachu you're up next," Ash said to Pikachu who nodded and jumped forwards to face Paul's next Pokemon.

"Magmortar stand by for battle!" cried Paul and a Pokemon that towered over Pikachu appeared. Magmortar vaguely resembled Magmar but had what looked like two yellow cannons on the ends of its arms. Its yellow hands were visible inside the cannons.

"Uh oh," Ash muttered, "So Paul's Magmar evolved." He scanned the creature.

" _Magmortar the Blast Pokemon and the evolved form of Magmar. It launches searing hot flames from the ends of its arms and lives in volcanic craters_."

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt!" ordered Ash and Pikachu fired a blast of electricity at Magmortar.

"Flamethrower!" ordered Paul and Magmortar's hands disappeared inside its cannons and were replaced by two huge streams of fire, which blasted through Thunderbolt and struck Pikachu causing him to scream in agony.

"Whoa, look at that power!" gasped Brock.

"That's the most powerful Flamethrower I've ever seen," Harry exclaimed.

"Pikachu use Thunder!" ordered Ash and Pikachu fired a more powerful electrical blast.

"Flamethrower again!" ordered Paul and both attacks collided. This time they were evenly matched and there was an explosion.

"Pikachu Volt Tackle!" ordered Ash and Pikachu surrounded himself with electricity and charged.

"Rock Tomb!" ordered Paul and Magmortar, whose hands had been invisible since the first Flamethrower, shot purple orbs out of its cannons at the ground in front of Pikachu. Each orb formed into a rock. Pikachu smashed through the first, then the second, then the third but got slower each time and Volt Tackle started to run out of power. When Pikachu collided with the fourth rock he was knocked backwards with a yelp of pain, "Now use Flamethrower!"

"Mor!" boomed Magmortar and fired another devastating pair of Flamethrowers from both cannons.

"Quick Attack!" ordered Ash and Pikachu reacted with astonishing speed, darting away from Flamethrower then lunging forwards and colliding with Magmortar who stumbled backwards.

Then Pikachu burst into flame.

"Pikachu!" cried Ash and Paul smirked.

"Thanks for activating Flame Body, Ash," he said smugly, "Magmortar return."

"Wait why is he recalling Magmortar now?" asked Dawn. Brock frowned, also confused by Paul's decision.

"Ursaring, stand by for battle!" cried Paul and the bear like creature emerged with a roar.

"Pikachu Thunderbolt!" ordered Ash and Pikachu blasted Ursaring with a powerful Thunderbolt causing the Hibernator Pokemon to roar with pain.

"Bulk Up!" Paul ordered and Ursaring clenched its fists, tensed its muscles and glowed red.

"Use Quick Attack!" ordered Ash and Pikachu darted forwards and slammed headfirst into Ursaring.

"Slash!" countered Paul and Ursaring slashed Pikachu with its claws sending him crashing to the ground. Pikachu tried to pull himself up, then screamed as fire surrounded him again. Ursaring smirked then grimaced as sparks surrounded its body.

"Pikachu your Static kicked in!" Ash called, "Now's your chance." Pikachu forced himself onto his feet while Ursaring stood paralyzed. Then Ursaring's eyes glowed red followed by the rest of its body. It roared furiously, "Thunder!"

"Pikachuuuu!" Pikachu blasted Ursaring with a huge Thunder attack.

"Hammer Arm!" Paul ordered and Ursaring, whilst still being shocked by Thunder, smashed its glowing white arm brutally into Pikachu and sent him flying. Pikachu crashed to the ground and Ursaring roared in triumph.

"Pikachu is unable to battle, Ursaring wins!" announced Reggie.

"Why did Ursaring glow like that?" Dawn asked.

"That's Ursaring's Guts Ability," Brock explained, "It raises Ursaring's Attack power when it's under the effects of a status condition like paralysis."

"So that's why Paul switched out Magmortar," Harry said.

"Pikachu are you okay?" asked Ash picking up the unconscious Pokemon. Pikachu didn't respond; he was out cold, "I'll get you to the Pokemon Center as soon as I'm done here. Hey Brock, look after Pikachu will you?" Brock nodded, stood up, and took Pikachu from Ash while Ash returned to his place on the battlefield, "Grotle I choose you."

"Grotle!" Grotle cried as he emerged from his Poke Ball.

"Use Razor Leaf!" ordered Ash and Grotle fired sharp leaves at Ursaring.

"Slash!" countered Paul and Ursaring cut down several leaves before faltering as he became paralyzed again and getting hit by the rest.

"Guts may give Ursaring an Attack boost but it doesn't heal the paralysis," Ash reminded Paul, "Use Rock Climb!" Grotle's claws glowed white and grew far beyond their natural length before he rose on his hind legs and stomped on the ground. A small mountain burst out of the ground and lifted Ursaring into the air. The Hibernator Pokemon roared with surprise as Grotle charged up the side of the mountain.

"Bulk Up!" ordered Paul and Ursaring glowed red and raised its Attack and Defense just before Grotle slammed into it, pushing it backwards, "Hammer Arm!" Ursaring's arms glowed white and it smashed both of them down on Grotle with such force that it also shattered the mountain they were standing on. Both Pokemon tumbling down as rubble flew everywhere. Ursaring kept its arms on top of Grotle until they hit the ground.

"Grotle!" cried Ash and Ursaring stepped back, revealing that Grotle had been knocked out.

"Grotle is unable to battle, Ursaring wins!" Reggie called.

"Just one hit!" Harry gasped.

"That's because it was boosted by two Bulk Ups and Ursaring's Guts," Brock said grimly, "Ash needs to be smarter against Ursaring; he can't beat it with raw power."

"Good job Grotle get some rest," Ash said and frowned. Ursaring's sheer brute strength was overwhelming. Ash decided to be more cautious with his next Pokemon, "Gliscor, I choose you!"

"Gliscor!" cried Gliscor and landed on her tail.

"Sand Attack!" ordered Ash and Gliscor flicked sand into Ursaring's eyes. Ursaring grunted and rubbed its eyes trying to get the sand out, "Now use Fire Fang!" Gliscor's fangs blazed and she clamped them shut on Ursaring's shoulder causing it to roar with pain.

"Slash!" Paul ordered.

"Dodge it then Screech!" cried Ash and Gliscor narrowly avoided Ursaring's sharp claws and flew to a safe height, before screeching loudly. Ursaring covered its ears, growling with discomfort. "Alright Gliscor use X-Scissor!" Gliscor crossed her claws, flew down and slashed Ursaring with her claws in an X shape, knocking it out.

"Ursaring is unable to battle, Gliscor wins!" called Reggie. Paul grunted and recalled Ursaring.

"Three Pokemon left on both sides," Harry noted and Dawn and Brock nodded.

"Magmortar stand by for battle!" cried Paul and sent out Magmortar for the second time.

"Gliscor return," Ash said and recalled her, not wanting to risk activating Flame Body a second time, "Buizel I choose you!" His Water type emerged and smirked at Magmortar who smirked back, "Water Gun!" Buizel squirted Water Gun at Magmortar.

"Flamethrower!" ordered Paul and Magmortar withdrew its hands, aimed its cannons and fired. The Flamethrower was so powerful that it evaporated the water and hit Buizel who yelled in pain. Buizel glared at Magmortar, furious that it had overwhelmed his Water Gun with a Fire type move.

"Buizel Water Pulse!" ordered Ash and Buizel slammed a Water Pulse into the ground sending a wave of water towards Magmortar.

"Use Rock Tomb as a shield!" ordered Paul and Magmortar shot purple orbs at the ground in front of it, creating a barrier between it and the oncoming wave.

"Not going to work!" Ash said, "Aqua Jet!" The Water Pulse slammed into the Rock Tomb.

"Jump," Paul said, just loudly enough for Magmortar to hear but not loud enough for Ash to hear. The pressure from both Water Pulse and Buizel's following Aqua Jet shattered the Rock Tomb but when Buizel reached the place where Magmortar had just been, he was facing only Paul. Then he looked up and realized that Magmortar had jumped to an impressive height for such a bulky Pokemon. "Smog!"

"Mag!" boomed Magmortar and shot out poisonous gas from its mouth which spread over Buizel who yelped and then glowed purple.

"Buizel!" cried Ash. Buizel had not activated Magmortar's Flame Body but had instead been poisoned by Smog. Ash gritted his teeth, "Aqua Jet!" Buizel spun his tails, surrounded himself with water and flew towards Magmortar.

"Thunder Punch!" ordered Paul and Magmortar used one of its seldom used hands for the first time in the entire battle. A yellow fist emerged from its right cannon and crackled with electricity before it slammed the Thunder Punch into Buizel who shrieked in agony as the Water from Aqua Jet conducted the electricity. Magmortar sent him flying across the battlefield.

"No!" cried Ash. Buizel made a valiant attempt to rise. Paul raised an eyebrow, mildly impressed by Buizel's resilience. His face became expressionless again when Buizel glowed purple from the poison. Buizel slumped to the ground.

"Buizel is unable to battle, Magmortar wins!"

"Despite his type advantage, Buizel didn't stand a chance," Dawn said.

"I doubt Brandon's Regice could beat Magmortar now that it's evolved," Harry said, remembering how easily the Legendary Pokemon had overwhelmed Magmortar while it was a Magmar.

"Buizel, you fought hard so get a good rest," Ash said, "Monferno, I choose you!" Monferno burst out of his Poke Ball.

"So Chimchar's evolved," muttered Paul, "About time." Ash scowled at him.

"Monferno use Dig!" ordered Ash and Monferno dived underground. Magmortar waited until Monferno burst out of the ground and pushed him backwards, before trying to strike back.

"Thunder Punch!" ordered Paul and Magmortar slammed its electrified fist into Monferno. Monferno backflipped and landed on his feet, smirking, "Magmortar use Rock Tomb!" Magmortar fired orbs of purple energy at the ground around Monferno.

"Dodge it!" cried Ash and Monferno jumped before the rocks could form and trap him between them, "Mach Punch!"

"Thunder Punch!" Paul countered. Monferno and Magmortar pulled back their fists which collided and created an explosion. Monferno flipped back and landed on top of Magmortar's missed Rock Tomb while Magmortar went sliding back, "Alright Magmortar return!" Magmortar disappeared into its Poke Ball, "Electabuzz stand by for battle!"

"Electabuzz!" cried Electabuzz and raised an eyebrow at Monferno before smirking as he recognized him as the same Chimchar he used to terrorize.

"Monferno use Dig!" ordered Ash and Monferno dived underground.

"Pathetic," Paul snorted, "Protect!" Electabuzz formed a green barrier as Monferno burst out of the ground. Monferno bounced off the barrier, "Thunder Punch!" Electabuzz pulled back his fist and as soon as Protect faded, he slammed it into Monferno's stomach sending him crashing to the ground.

"Monferno Flamethrower!" ordered Ash and Monferno leapt onto his feet before firing a stream of flames from his mouth.

"Light Screen!" ordered Paul and Electabuzz formed a yellow box around his body which absorbed half the damage from Flamethrower.

"Alright Monferno return!" Ash called and Monferno disappeared into his Poke Ball, "Gliscor take over!" Gliscor appeared once more.

"Electabuzz return," Paul said and recalled the Electric type, "Ninjask stand by for battle!" In the heat of the battle, Ash had forgotten about Ninjask. "Swords Dance!" Ninjask crossed its arms and its claws glowed purple before it spun, raising its Attack by two levels.

"Steel Wing!" ordered Ash and Gliscor's wings hardened as she flew towards Ninjask.

"Dodge it and use Slash!" ordered Paul.

"Turn around and use Fire Fang!" ordered Ash and Gliscor turned as Ninjask darted behind her, clamping her blazing fangs onto the arm the Ninja Pokemon had used to perform its Slash. Ninjask screeched in pain but still had its other arm free.

"Slash again!" Paul shouted and Ninjask slashed Gliscor with its free claw before darting away once she released it, "Now use Aerial Ace!" Ninjask darted forwards, surrounded by white streaks, and slammed into Gliscor, knocking her out.

"Gliscor is unable to battle, Ninjask wins!"

"This isn't good," muttered Brock, "Paul's still got three Pokemon and Ash has only got Monferno."

"Yeah but Magmortar and Ninjask have both taken damage," Dawn reminded him, "Ash still has a chance."

"Monferno I choose you!" shouted Ash and Monferno appeared, "Flamethrower!" Monferno fired a stream of flames but the Light Screen appeared around Ninjask and absorbed half of the damage. Even so the super effectiveness of the attack caused Ninjask to slow down noticeably from pain.

"Baton Pass!" ordered Paul and Ninjask glowed red and linked itself to Paul's Poke Ball before disappearing inside it, "Electabuzz stand by for battle!" Electabuzz emerged and smirked as he felt Ninjask's stat boosts powering him up.

"Mach Punch!" Ash ordered and Monferno charged at Electabuzz, his fist glowing white.

"Use Thunder Punch!" ordered Paul and thanks to the Attack and Speed boosts Ninjask had given him through Baton Pass, Electabuzz dodged Mach Punch and smashed a Thunder Punch into Monferno's chin, lifting him right off his feet sending him crashing to the ground. Monferno groaned and rubbed his head. That Thunder Punch had done a lot of damage, "Now use Thunder!"

"Electabuzz!" yelled Electabuzz and unleashed a huge blast of electricity causing Monferno to shriek in pain.

"Monferno Flamethrower!" yelled Ash and Monferno fired a stream of flames. Unfortunately Light Screen appeared to absorb it.

"Thunder!" Paul ordered

"Monferno jump!" shouted Ash and Monferno leapt over the blast of electricity.

"Shoot it down with another Thunder!" ordered Paul.

"Just what I was hoping for," Ash said, "Counter Shield!"

"What's Counter Shield?" asked Paul. Then he witnessed it when Monferno rolled inside a Flame Wheel whilst simultaneously using Flamethrower to block the electricity. Electabuzz's eyes widened in shock and Paul's calm demeanour was shaken for a moment by the unique attack. Not only were they caught off guard, but Light Screen's time limit ran out, resulting in Electabuzz receiving the full force of the fire whips Flamethrower had created, before being hit by Flame Wheel. Electabuzz screeched in pain as Monferno sent him flying.

"What do you think of that?" Ash asked smugly.

"Not bad," Paul admitted, recovering from his surprise, "I wasn't expecting it. Electabuzz Thunder Punch!"

"Use Dig!" ordered Ash as Electabuzz lunged. Monferno disappeared underground and Electabuzz landed behind the hole but didn't have time to set up Protect before Monferno burst out of the ground underneath him sending him flying, "Finish this with Flame Wheel!"

"Protect!" ordered Paul and Electabuzz hastily blocked Flame Wheel. Monferno sprang off the barrier, "Thunder Punch!"

"Mach Punch!" Ash yelled. Due to Mach Punch's natural speed and the increased speed Electabuzz received from Ninjask's Speed Boost Ability, both pokemon smashed their fists into each others faces at the same time. Monferno received a powerful shock from the Swords Dance boosted Thunder Punch, while Electabuzz stumbled away with nothing worse than a bruised cheek. He rubbed his face and glared at Monferno who glared back.

Then, seemingly in slow motion, Monferno collapsed.

"Monferno!" cried Ash but Monferno didn't respond.

"Monferno is unable to battle, Electabuzz wins!" announced Reggie, "And that means that Paul wins the battle!"

Ash was gutted. However he put on a brave face and knelt beside Monferno.

"Thanks Monferno," he whispered. Monferno looked up at him miserably. All of Ash's friends felt bad for him, even Reggie even though Ash had been beaten by his younger sibling. Paul recalled Electabuzz and looked at Ash silently for a long moment.

"You're not a bad trainer, Ash," he finally admitted, "But you're not nearly as strong as you could be. You'll have to work your Pokemon much harder if you want to beat me." With that, Paul turned and walked away.

"I should be heading home," Reggie said, "But thanks for letting me referee your battle."

"You're welcome," Ash said sadly. Reggie put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, it's not every day that Paul compliments his opponents," Reggie said, "You've started to earn his respect and believe me that's not something he gives easily." Ash cheered up a bit when he said that.

"Thanks," he said. Reggie smiled and walked away. Ash recalled Monferno and went over to Brock, Dawn and Harry. Pikachu had regained consciousness and his ears were drooping sadly.

"At least you took out three of Paul's Pokemon," Dawn said encouragingly.

"Yeah," Ash smiled slightly and took Pikachu from Brock's arms.

"Come on," Harry said, "Let's go to the Pokemon Center and get everyone patched up." The group walked away. Brock brought up the rear and the wind blew through his spiky hair. Absentmindedly, he looked back at Lake Acuity.

Then a transparent shape rose out of the lake. Brock's jaw dropped and he stared at the shape for a moment, before calling for the others who all had their backs to the lake.

"Hey guys!" he shouted, "Look! I think it's…" When everyone turned to the lake however the shape was gone. Harry looked at Brock knowingly.

"Uxie?" he asked. Brock nodded.

"I bet Uxie was watching the whole time," said Dawn.

"Yeah and it only emerged once the asshole left," Harry said. Dawn and Brock chuckled and even Ash smiled slightly.

"Wish Uxie had stuck around so we could all see it," he muttered.

"Hey at least all three of you have each seen one of the Lake Guardians," Harry said, "Even if it is just their projected soul instead of the physical body. I haven't had any Legendary Pokemon show favouritism toward me."

"Except Spiritomb," said Dawn.

"Does Spiritomb count?" asked Harry.

"Well it has legends written about it and it's really rare so I think so," Ash said, shrugging. Then he turned and led the way towards the Pokemon Center.

 **Paul didn't use Azumarill against Roark in this continuity and since it should be impossible for a tiny Chimchar to lift a massive Onix, I think having Breloom defeat Onix is more realistic. Also Ash and Paul finished their three on three battle that was let incomplete in Glory Blaze; Paul won.**

 **I want to save Torterra for the Sinnoh League and Paul's Weavile was, at least for a Pokémon that Paul didn't release, rather weak since it was never shown winning a battle in the anime, plus it had its moment when Paul battled Harry and Ash. That's why I didn't use those two here.**


	53. Looker

Ash was a bit depressed the next day. His Pokemon were all healing and although they were hurt, they still made the effort to cheer him up. Upon seeing that none of his Pokemon had taken the defeat badly, not even Monferno who had more reason to beat Paul than any of them, Ash snapped out of his misery.

When Ash's Pokemon had healed, the group walked along the edge of Lake Acuity before they left, hoping to get another glimpse of Uxie. When it didn't appear, they decided to head for Dawn's next contest. Assuming Harry stayed with them this time, it would be the first time he'd seen Dawn in a contest since the Wallace Cup.

"You only need one more ribbon to enter the Grand Festival right?" Harry asked as the group headed to Mount Coronet.

"That's right," Dawn nodded.

"And after that, you and I only need to get one more badge to get into the Pokemon League," Ash reminded Harry.

"Yep," Harry said cheerfully.

Suddenly Riolu stopped at a small cave. The rest of the group went past him but when Harry noticed the Emanation Pokemon was no longer in front of him, he glanced back. Then, even more mysteriously, Croagunk busted his way out of his Poke Ball without Brock prompting him to do so by flirting with anyone.

"What's wrong guys?" asked Brock.

"Riolu, what are you sensing?" Harry asked.

"Riolu," Riolu said and gestured to the cave, which wasn't really much more than a hole that sloped steeply downwards. Croagunk was silent but had a rather dark expression and one hand was glowing faintly as if he was about to use Poison Jab.

"Wait a minute," Brock said thoughtfully, "Croagunk's acted like this before and that was when Saturn's Toxicroak was nearby."

"You think his Anticipation activated again?" Harry asked.

"Does that mean Team Galactic's here?" Dawn asked.

"We could go and find out," Ash suggested. Harry looked at Riolu who glanced back at him. They were both remembering Harry's first and second encounters with Team Galactic.

"You didn't want me to meddle with Team Galactic in Eterna City," Harry reminded Riolu who nodded. Then he glanced at the hole before returning to his trainer's side. Croagunk however walked into the cave.

"Croagunk, come back!" Brock said and hurried to the hole. Croagunk slid down the steep slope and out of sight. Brock groaned but followed him. Harry, Ash and Dawn looked at each other.

"We gonna risk our lives against those lunatics again?" asked Harry.

"Well we can't leave Brock to fight them himself," Ash said, "Assuming it _is_ Team Galactic Croagunk and Riolu were sensing." He slid down the slope with Pikachu on his shoulder. Harry, Dawn, Piplup and Riolu followed him.

The cave was dark but it appeared to be man-made judging by the lights along the tunnel's roof, which had been fixed into the stone. Surprisingly, Croagunk had waited for them at the bottom. As soon as they caught up with him however, he strode away. The others followed. Riolu went ahead to help Croagunk find his way with Aura.

Eventually they reached an area that was lighter than the rest of the labyrinth. Hiding behind some rocks they spotted Saturn and his Toxicroak along with several Team Galactic grunts and an old man wearing glasses. Saturn and the old man were arguing about something.

"You must learn the value of patience, Saturn," the old guy said.

"Because of what happened on Iron Island, we're behind schedule, Charon!" snapped Saturn. Harry and Ash glanced at each other and smirked, remembering when they had spoiled Team Galactic's scanning of Mount Coronet.

"Sir!" cried one of the subordinates, "I've found something!" He was holding a metal rod with a pronged device on the end which was glowing red.

"Finally," growled Saturn, "Toxicroak, Rock Smash!" Toxicroak's claws glowed blue as it smashed them into the wall the grunt's rod was scanning. Croagunk watched Toxicroak for a moment, then lunged without warning.

"Croagunk no!" shouted Brock, alerting the Team Galactic members to their presence. Toxicroak turned and Croagunk thrust a Poison Jab into its belly. Toxicroak stumbled but seemed more surprised than hurt. It smirked at Croagunk and its claws glowed as it prepared for a counterstrike.

"You four again!" Saturn snarled. Charon looked at the intruders with a mildly interested expression.

"What are you thugs looking for?" asked Harry.

"None of your…" Saturn began.

"Spear Pillar," said Charon. Saturn glared at him but the old man just shrugged at him. Harry glanced at the wall which had been partially knocked away by Toxicroak's Rock Smash.

"Get them, Kadabra!" ordered Saturn sending out his Psychic type. Charon sent out a strange, levitating creature. Harry scanned it quickly.

" _Rotom the Plasma Pokemon._ _It is known to infiltrate electronic devices and wreak havoc_. _Depending on what device it enters, it can take different forms and learn different moves._ "

"Pikachu use Quick Attack on Kadabra!" ordered Ash and Pikachu darted towards Kadabra.

"Teleport!" Saturn ordered and Kadabra disappeared and reappeared behind Pikachu, "Psybeam!" A purple beam shot out of Kadabra's spoon and Pikachu yelped in pain. Then there was another cry of pain from Croagunk as Toxicroak used X-Scissor to send him flying.

"Riolu help Croagunk!" Harry ordered and Riolu hurried forwards but Croagunk glared at him and shook his head. He wanted to deal with Toxicroak by himself.

"Kadabra, Psybeam on Riolu!" ordered Saturn and Kadabra blasted Riolu with a purple beam.

"Rotom use Shadow Ball on Pikachu!" ordered Charon and Rotom formed a black orb which it then fired at Pikachu.

"Dodge and use Iron Tail!" ordered Ash and Pikachu jumped, spun in the air, and smashed an Iron Tail into Rotom knocking it to the ground.

"Don't just stand there you fools!" Saturn bellowed at the grunts, "Get rid of these children!" The grunts each sent out a Golbat.

"Pachirisu Discharge!" Dawn cried and sent out her Electric type who blasted the Golbat with bolts of blue electricity. Pikachu helped with his Thunderbolt and unconscious Golbat landed in various parts of the cave. Saturn glared at the unconscious Golbat, then at the grunts who had been no help at all.

"Riolu, Quick Attack on Kadabra!" ordered Harry and Riolu darted towards the Psychic type.

"Teleport!" ordered Saturn.

"Sense it!" countered Harry and Riolu locked onto Kadabra's Aura very quickly before turning and shooting towards it as soon as it reappeared, catching the Psychic Pokemon off guard and ramming into it.

"Psychic!" ordered Saturn and Kadabra lifted Riolu into the air telekinetically and smashed him against the wall, knocking him out.

"Riolu return," Harry said as he recalled his unconscious Pokemon.

"Piplup use Bubblebeam on Kadabra!" called Dawn.

"Teleport then Shock Wave!" ordered Saturn and Kadabra disappeared, reappeared behind Piplup and blasted him with an electrical bolt at point blank range knocking him out with a single hit.

"Piplup!" cried Dawn, "Alright Pachirisu Super Fang!" Pachirisu's fangs grew beyond their natural length and Kadabra yelled in pain as the Electric type bit it hard, destroying half of its remaining energy with one strike.

"Recover!" called Saturn and Kadabra glowed yellow and restored energy.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt on Rotom!" ordered Ash and Pikachu shot a Thunderbolt at Rotom. Rotom just chuckled as if the electricity was just tickling it.

"Confuse Ray!" ordered Charon and Rotom's eyes glowed purple and it sent a purple ray from them towards Pikachu. Pikachu clutched his head. Saturn noticed and smirked.

"Use Psychic to throw Pachirisu into Pikachu!" he instructed and Kadabra obeyed. When Pachirisu slammed into Pikachu the latter released a blast of electricity. In his confused state of mind, he'd mistaken Pachirisu for an enemy. Pachirisu backed away, looking scared, then Pikachu slammed an Iron Tail into it. Charon and Saturn watched with amusement.

"Pikachu stop!" cried Ash as Pikachu tackled Pachirisu with Quick Attack, knocking it out. It was only then that Pikachu regained his senses.

"Rock Smash!" ordered Saturn and Toxicroak smashed its glowing white claw into Croagunk, sending him flying into Pikachu, "Now use Dark Pulse!" Toxicroak smirked and fired black rings from an orb of rings it had formed between its hands, knocking out both Croagunk and Pikachu with the same move.

"Pikachu no!" cried Ash.

"Croagunk!" yelled Brock.

"Seize them!" ordered Saturn and the grunts obeyed. Before long all the intruders were tied up, "Now stay quiet."

"Or what?" asked Dawn. One of the grunts loosened her scarf and tightened it over her mouth as a gag. The boys all stayed quiet and watched. The grunt then glanced at them, which was confusing.

"Toxicroak finish smashing that wall," Saturn ordered. Toxicroak had a few bruises – Croagunk had put up a valiant fight – but was able to use Rock Smash to shatter the wall without too much difficulty. Behind the wall was a small ruins. Saturn looked at Charon and asked, "Is this it?"

"Only one way to find out," Charon replied. He gestured to one of the grunts who brought a case over to him. The tied up captives instantly straightened when he opened the case. The same key they had seen Mars and Jupiter using on Iron Island was in the case.

Saturn looked at the key, then the ruins, then Charon. He scowled. Charon grinned sheepishly.

"I guess this is the wrong ruins," he said.

"Well I have all the information I need," said the grunt who had gagged Dawn. Everyone looked at him as he threw off his disguise. He was a tall, handsome man in a trenchcoat with brown hair and grey eyes.

"You're no Team Galactic member!" cried Charon. His Rotom floated to his side and the pair of them glared at the man.

"I'm Looker a member of the International Police," the man replied, "And you lot are under arrest. Croagunk free the prisoners!" Another Croagunk burst out of its Poke Ball and jumped to Ash, Harry, Brock and Dawn. It removed their bonds quickly and Dawn wrenched her scarf away from her mouth so that it was around her neck once more. She spat out a few bits of material that had gotten into her mouth.

"Toxicroak, get rid of that Croagunk too!" ordered Saturn as Croagunk returned to Looker's side, "Rock Smash!"

"Use Sucker Punch!" ordered Looker. Toxicroak leapt at Croagunk but the smaller Pokemon darted in close and punched its evolved form in the belly before ducking beneath Toxicroak's claw and leaping away, "Now use Mud Bomb, Croagunk!"

"Croagunk!" cried Croagunk and spat bombs of mud out of its mouth blasting Toxicroak away. The larger Pokemon struggled to its feet but its battle with Brock's Croagunk had exhausted it.

"We're leaving!" cried Saturn, "Kadabra, get us out of here!"

"Spiritomb Hypnosis!" cried Harry and threw Spiritomb's Poke Ball. The Forbidden Pokemon's body spun as he used the move Brandon's Spiritomb had taught him. Kadabra fell asleep before it could focus on all the Team Galactic members in order to Teleport them out of the cave.

"Never mind Teleport," Charon said, "Let's just run!" With speed unexpected in a man his age, he ran for the exit.

"Stop him, Croagunk!" ordered Looker and Croagunk lunged but Charon's Rotom got between them.

"Confuse Ray!" ordered Charon and Rotom shot a purple ray at Croagunk who started stumbling around, banging its head with its fists. Toxicroak gave it an evil look and lunged forwards.

"Croagunk return!" said Looker before Toxicroak could gut its pre-evolved form. Toxicroak looked disappointed. All the Team Galactic members were now heading for the exit.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" ordered Ash.

"Spiritomb, Dark Pulse!" Harry commanded.

"Rotom cover us with Light Screen!" ordered Charon as the two former enemies launched their attacks. Rotom shot between the attacking Pokemon and the fleeing Team Galactic members and formed a yellow screen. Thunderbolt was absorbed harmlessly while Dark Pulse pushed Rotom back but couldn't penetrate Light Screen. Rotom then disappeared as a Poke Ball's red beam shot out of the dark tunnel.

"Typical," Harry muttered, "Those guys always get away." He looked at the ruins, "What do you think's in there?"

"Does it really matter?" asked Brock, "We're not Brandon."

"No but there could be a rare or Legendary Pokemon in there," Harry said.

"We don't have time for this," said Looker, "We need to catch Team Galactic."

"Those guys are very good at running away, Mr Looker," Harry said, "And no offence but did you think you could arrest all of them by yourself?"

"I needed to be inconspicuious so I couldn't call upon other members of the International Police," Looker explained.

"Well even though Team Galactic got away, thanks for helping us Mr Looker," Ash said. Dawn nodded although she could still taste a bit of her scarf on her tongue. All the travelling had made the scarf a bit frayed.

"You know what, I think the information I got here today will be useful in the future," Looker said and suddenly he seemed cheerful, even though his quarry had escaped, "Why don't we have a quick look at the ruins?" The group all went into the hole Toxicroak had created.

The ruins had strange symbols on the doors, shaped like letters. Ash, Dawn and Brock had all seen this kind of writing before at the Solaceon Ruins but since Harry had bypassed Solaceon Town altogether, he was unfamiliar with the Unown. The group had to work together to push the doors open.

Inside was a large chamber which was unnaturally cold. There was a strange shrine in the middle with a golden Orb on it.

"What is that?" asked Dawn.

"It looks a bit like the Lustrous and Adamant Orb," Harry said, fascinated. Looker stepped forwards and examined the orb closely.

"It's very old," he said, "I wouldn't be surprised if it's as old as the Adamant or Lustrous Orbs."

"Team Galactic was obsessed with those Orbs," Harry said, "This one might be just as powerful." The group all looked at the Orb whilst Looker circled around the shrine.

"Giratina…" Looker said quietly.

"Excuse me?" asked Ash.

"I think this is the Griseous Orb," said Looker, "According to legend, the Original One designed it specifically for Giratina, just like it designed the Adamant and Lustrous Orbs for Dialga and Palkia."

"Do you think Team Galactic know about this?" asked Dawn.

"If they did, they would have been looking for this Orb too," Brock pointed out.

"Which means we know something they don't," Harry said, "Cyrus said the Adamant and Lustrous Orb's control Dialga and Palkia so by that logic this Griseous Orb is probably able to control Giratina." He reached out very slowly and touched the orb. It was very cold.

"I think we should leave," Brock said.

"But Brock, Team Galactic are after both Dialga _and_ Palkia," Harry said, "The last thing they'd be expecting is for us to bring along a third Legendary Pokemon. I think we should take the Orb with us."

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea," Looker cautioned, "Giratina is known for being a very hostile Pokemon."

"We'll encounter Team Galactic again," Harry said with certainty. He didn't think Aura could be used to foresee the future but some gut instinct was telling him that this wouldn't be the last time they ran into the villains, "What we need is the element of surprise. Giratina would be a perfect surprise."

"Do you really think we can control Giratina just by having that orb?" Brock asked.

"Brandon's able to control Regirock, Regice, Registeel and Regigigas all at once," Harry said, "And Tobias can control Darkrai, Latios and Latias. Besides would using Giratina be worse than Team Galactic's plan to destroy the world?"

"Good point," Ash muttered. Harry picked up the Orb. It was surprisingly light. He put it in his backpack. Looker and Brock were frowning but Ash and Dawn seemed to have accepted Harry's decision.

"Let's go," Harry said and the group left the ruins.

 **QUEENSPELLER67, I don't know if Gliscor's female in the anime but there's no evidence that it's male either and I prefer it if most of the main characters Pokémon have confirmed genders, Bronzor being an exception obviously.**


	54. Johto Festival

After saying goodbye to Looker, the group continued towards Dawn's next Pokemon Contest which was between them and Sunnyshore City. They eventually arrived in the town in which the contest would take place. The town even had an airport.

"Where are we?" asked Harry. Brock looked at his guidebook.

"Airport's are rare in Sinnoh," he said, "According to this there's only one on this side of Mount Coronet and one on the other side. So I guess we must be in Lilypad Town."

"Marill!" cried a voice and the group were surprised to see a small, round blue Pokemon with a ball on the end of its tail wandering around in the street.

"Why would a Marill, be wandering the streets?" asked Harry as he took out his pokedex.

"Maybe it's lost," Dawn said.

" _Marill the Aqua Mouse Pokémon. Its floating tail allows it to remain steady against the strongest of water currents_."

"Riolu?" Riolu said to Marill when it noticed them. Marill looked fascinated by Riolu and Piplup and smiled at Pikachu when he greeted him.

"Marill!" called a girl's voice, "Marill where are you?" Marill squirted a Water Gun into the air. A moment later a girl about the same age as Harry and Dawn appeared, "There you are. What have I told you about wandering off?" Marill just smiled cutely and jumped into her arms. The girls scolding look faded as she hugged the Pokemon.

"Hi," Dawn said and the girl paid attention to them for the first time.

"Hi," she said, "Are you here for the Johto Festival?"

"Johto Festival?" Dawn asked, "No I'm here for the Pokemon Contest."

"Ooh I'm looking forward to seeing that tomorrow!" the girl said enthusiastically, "My father agreed to let me stay and watch once the festival's over. Contests only started becoming popular in Johto earlier this year and they're still building contest halls there, so I've never been to one before."

"Well I'm Dawn and this is Piplup," said Dawn. Piplup puffed out his chest.

"I'm Harry and this is Riolu," Harry said. Riolu waved at the girl.

"I'm Ash and I travelled through Johto a couple of years ago," Ash said, "This is Pikachu." Pikachu waved.

"And I'm Brock, a Pokemon Breeder," Brock said.

"Nice to meet you all," said the girl, "I'm Lyra. Do you want to come to the Johto Festival? It's the last day but we've got a prize for whoever wins our little battle tournament.

"Battle tournament!" Ash and Harry's ears perked up at that.

"Yep," Lyra said cheerfully, "Better hurry if you want to register."

Harry, Ash and Dawn all decided to enter the tournament, which consisted of one-on-one battles. Lyra's father, a trainer named Thorton, was hosting the tournament and whoever won would not only get the prize but a chance to battle him too. What interested Harry and Ash about Thorton was that he was in charge of a special facility called the Battle Tower near Olivine City. There was no obvious resemblance between Lyra and Thorton so presumably she inherited her looks from her mother.

Ash, Dawn, Harry and Lyra got to the semi-finals with little difficulty. With only the four of them left, Harry was paired up with Lyra while Ash was paired up with Dawn. Ash and Dawn went first.

"Buizel, I choose you!" cried Ash and sent Buizel out onto the raised stage which served as the battlefield.

"Ambipom, spotlight!" cried Dawn and sent out Ambipom, "Use Swift!" Ambipom shot stars from her tail which circled around Buizel and then shot into the middle in order to strike him from all sides.

"Buizel use Brick Break!" ordered Ash and Buizel, who had finally learned Brick Break after seeing Harry's Floatzel use it so many times, raised his hand and jumped towards Ambipom.

"Grab it!" cried Dawn and Ambipom reached out with both of her tails and stopped Brick Break in mid-air, "Use Focus Punch!" Ambipom held onto Buizel's hand with one tail and charged up Focus Punch with the other.

"Water Gun!" Ash ordered and Buizel squirted a Water Gun into Ambipom's face causing her to let go and lose her focus, rendering Focus Punch useless. Buizel jumped back as Ash yelled, "Sonicboom!" Spinning, Buizel shot several Sonicbooms at Ambipom.

"Double Hit!" ordered Dawn and Ambipom's tails glowed purple before she struck each Sonicboom, destroying them with great precision.

"Use Aqua Jet!" ordered Ash and Buizel slammed into Ambipom with Aqua Jet knocking her backwards.

"Ambipom Swift!" shouted Dawn and Ambipom fired more stars from her tails causing Buizel to grimace as he was struck by them, "Focus Punch!"

"Aqua Jet!" ordered Ash and Buizel hit Ambipom first once again rendering Focus Punch useless.

"Double Hit, let's go!" ordered Dawn and Ambipom quickly recovered before slamming both of her tails into Buizel, one after the other, "Ambipom, finish it with Acrobatics!" Ambipom grinned as she used the move she had learned from Harry's Chimchar. Leaving behind two after-images she slammed into Buizel but didn't stop there. She also grabbed Buizel with both tails and tossed him right over her head, then jumped and bounced off his back before jumping back to her trainer's side of the stage.

"Buizel is unable to battle," said Thorton's assistant who was acting as the referee, "Ambipom wins!"

Next it was Harry and Lyra's turn. Lyra had only been using her Marill and Girafarig so far but now she revealed her Starter Pokemon.

"Go Bayleef!" she called and a Pokemon that looked like a sauropod with a leaf on its head and a ring of large green buds around its neck appeared.

" _Bayleef the Leaf Pokemon and the evolved form of Chikorita._ _A spicy aroma emanates from around its neck. The aroma acts as a stimulant to restore health_."

"Chimchar, take your position!" called Harry and Chimchar sprang cheerfully out of her Poke Ball. Thorton's assistant brought his hands down signalling the start of the match, "Use Flame Wheel!" Harry ordered and Chimchar rolled in flames towards Bayleef.

"Reflect!" called Lyra and Bayleef set up a blue box around its body which Chimchar rammed into. Bayleef winced on impact but held its ground and Chimchar sprang back.

"Flamethrower!" Harry ordered and Chimchar launched a stream of flames at Bayleef.

"Light Screen!" ordered Lyra and a yellow box surrounded Bayleef to weaken the power of the flames, although once again it winced from the super effectiveness of the attack, "Now use Body Slam!" Bayleef threw its full weight on top of Chimchar causing her to squeal with pain. Bayleef then jumped back to create some space between them. "Now Razor Leaf!"

"Bay!" Bayleef cried and swung its head sending sharp leaves from the leaf on its head which sent Chimchar flying.

"You're Bayleef's pretty strong," Harry said, "Chimchar use Acrobatics!" Chimchar darted forwards then jumped, landing on top of the blue box that reformed in retaliation to the Physical Attack. Chimchar then jumped of and tried to attack Bayleef from behind but Reflect blocked her again.

"Body Slam!" called Lyra.

"Dodge it!" Harry shouted. Although Bayleef was faster than it looked, Chimchar easily avoided it, "Flamethrower!" Chimchar fired Flamethrower but Light Screen reappeared and absorbed it. However Bayleef had now taken four super effective hits and despite the barriers it was beginning to tire.

"Bayleef, Poison Powder!" ordered Lyra and Bayleef waved its leaf and purple powder shot out from it. Chimchar glowed purple and started coughing from the poison, "Razor Leaf!"

"Flamethrower!" shouted Harry as Bayleef shot Razor Leaf at Chimchar. Chimchar hastily incinerated the leaves with her Flamethrower but Light Screen lit up again to deflect it. Harry knew that Bayleef's barriers would wear off soon however.

"Bayleef, Body Slam!" ordered Lyra and Bayleef threw itself at Chimchar.

"Dodge it!" called Harry and Chimchar jumped aside before wincing as the poison caused more damage. At that moment however, Reflect wore off, "Façade!" Chimchar glowed gold and threw herself into the surprised Bayleef, knocking it unconscious.

"What?" Lyra yelped in surprise. It wasn't suprising that Bayleef had lost to Chimchar but what was suprising was that Chimchar had used a Normal type move to land the finishing blow, even though she had super effective STAB moves at her disposal.

"Bayleef is unable to battle, Chimchar wins!" said Thorton's assistant.

"Façade gets more powerful when Chimchar's under the effect of a status condition," Harry explained to Lyra, "But I thought it would still be best to wait until Reflect wore off."

"That was smart," Lyra said, "Congratulations. I'd like to see if you can beat my dad though."

"Well I still have to beat Dawn first," Harry said and as he spoke, Dawn replaced Lyra on the stage. Lyra smiled at the pair of them before climbing down and joining the crowd. Harry knelt beside Chimchar and gave her a spray from an Antidote. She smiled gratefully and Harry recalled her before standing up to face Dawn.

"Pachirisu, spotlight!" cried Dawn and let out her EleSquirrel Pokemon.

"Leafeon, take your position!" called Harry and Leafeon smirked confidently at Pachirisu when he appeared, "Shadow Ball!" Leafeon formed a ball of shadowy energy in front of his mouth and shot it at Pachirisu.

"Super Fang!" ordered Dawn and Pachirisu's fangs glowed as it lunged straight at the Shadow Ball, cutting through it with its glowing teeth before continuing and biting Leafeon. He screamed in pain and was suddenly down to half of his original health.

"Leaf Blade!" Harry ordered and Leafeon swung the leaf on his head which glowed and knocked Pachirisu away before turning and slashing Pachirisu with his tail as well.

"Discharge!" ordered Dawn and Pachirisu shot a flare of blue electricity. Leafeon winced when the attack hit him, "Now use Super Fang!"

"Leafeon, dodge it!" cried Harry and Leafeon leapt away from Pachirisu's devastating fangs, "Shadow Ball!"

"Knock it away!" called Dawn and Pachirisu swung its large tail as Leafeon fired Shadow Ball. Pachirisu used its tail to swat Shadow Ball away, before turning to Leafeon.

"Quick Attack!" Harry ordered and Leafeon shot forwards and slammed into Pachirisu knocking it backwards.

"Pachirisu use Spark!" cried Dawn and Pachirisu surrounded itself with electricity and lunged.

"Dodge it!" called Harry and Leafeon jumped over Pachirisu who skidded to a halt.

"Discharge!" shouted Dawn and Pachirisu shot Discharge in all directions before Leafeon landed. Leafeon landed but then his leg spasms and he fell to the ground, paralyzed.

"Sunny Day!" Harry called and Leafeon shot Sunny Day into the sky, activating Leaf Guard and healing the paralysis but it took him some time to do so.

"Spark!" cried Dawn and Pachirisu rammed into Leafeon with the Electric attack. Although it wasn't very effective, Leafeon was tiring fast. Then he started absorbing sunlight and his injuries faded.

"Synthesis," Harry said, "That'll be useful."

"Pachirisu Super Fang!" ordered Dawn and Pachirisu clamped its powerful fangs onto Leafeon, suddenly making him a lot weaker.

"Leaf Blade!" Harry ordered but Dawn was ready.

"Dodge it!" she called and Pachirisu sprang back avoiding both of Leafeon's Leaf Blades.

"Shadow Ball!"

"Super Fang!"

Once again Pachirisu destroyed Shadow Ball as it closed in on Leafeon.

"Leaf Blade!" Harry shouted and Leafeon charged right _towards_ Pachirisu and swung the leaf on his head as they passed each other. There was a short silence. Then Pachirisu collapsed.

"Pachirisu is unable to battle, Leafeon wins!" cried the assistant, "Harry Rowan wins the prize and a chance to battle Johto's Battle Tower Tycoon Thorton!" The crowd cheered. It suddenly struck Harry that he had not been at all nervous about performing in front of this crowd. He reasoned it was because they were in a town square with only people involved in the festival watching, rather than a stadium where not only were the crowds much bigger but everything was also being recorded live.

Thorton approached Harry with a glass case. Inside it was a dark green egg with red spots.

"Congratulations," Thorton said and gave Harry the egg, "I hope you will look after this baby Pokemon."

"I will," Harry said, "What's inside it?"

"You'll have to wait and see," replied Thorton.

"It's a Cyndaquil egg!" Brock called from the crowd, "I can tell by the colour and red spots." Thorton looked slightly annoyed that Brock had spoiled the surprise but Harry just smiled at him.

"Well as promised, you shall now battle against me," Thorton said and went back to his side of the battlefield, "Typhlosion, come forth!" A large Pokemon somewhat resembling a badger and a weasel appeared, standing on its hind legs.

"Phlosion!" roared the creature and flames blazed on the back of its neck showing it was ready to battle.

" _Typhlosion the Volcano Pokemon and final form of Cyndaquil._ _It attacks with powerful flames and creates heat shimmers with intense fire to hide itself_."

"Cyndaquil's parent, I assume?" Harry said and Thorton nodded, "Gabite, take your position." Gabite appeared and smirked at Typhlosion, "Use Dragonbreath!" Gabite fired a stream of white flames at Typlosion.

"Quick Attack!" ordered Thorton and Typhlosion got down on all fours and darted forwards, avoiding Dragonbreath easily and slamming into Gabite. Gabite grunted and then, without waiting for his trainers command, slashed Typlosion with Dragon Claw. Harry frowned as Typhlosion rubbed its cheek where Gabite had slashed it then snarled.

"Gabite, did you hear me tell you to use Dragon Claw?" Harry scolded but Gabite ignored him. Despite the bonding they had done in Snowpoint City, Gabite wasn't fully obedient yet.

"Typhlosion use Flamethrower!" ordered Thorton and Typhlosion fired a stream of flames that would give Paul's Magmortar's Flamethrower a run for its money.

"Dodge it!" Harry called but Gabite ignored him and crossed his fins. He snarled as the Flamethrower hit him but held firm. Typhlosion and Thorton both raised their eyebrows at his behaviour, "Gabite, what's wrong with you? I thought we were past this!"

"Interesting," said Thorton, "It seems that your Gabite believes it can defeat Typhlosion without your help. If so, it's mistaken. Use Quick Attack!" Typhlosion went down on all fours and shot towards Gabite knocking him backwards. Gabite lashed out with another Dragon Claw but Typhlosion jumped out of range, "Flamethrower!"

"Dragon Rage!" Harry ordered but Gabite fired a Dragonbreath instead. Harry grunted in frustration. Typhlosion's Flamethrower was stronger and Gabite roared in pain and frustration as the flames overwhelmed Dragonbreath and went on to strike him. "Gabite for Arceus' sake listen to me! You can't beat Typhlosion if you don't!" Gabite looked back at him, then grunted and jumped into the air, preparing a Dragon Rush. Typhlosion stood its ground as Gabite dived towards it surrounded by blue energy.

Typhlosion reached out with both hands and grabbed Gabite around the neck, stopping Dragon Rush completely.

Gabite stared at his opponent in shock. Typhlosion had just stopped his most powerful move effortlessly. Thorton decided it was time to finish this battle.

"Use Blast Burn!" he ordered. The flames on the back of Typhlosions neck turned bright blue. Gabite struggled as the blue fire surrounded Typhlosion's body, then erupted out and spread across the stage, stopping just short of Harry who stepped back from the searing heat. Typhlosion was still holding Gabite by the neck so he received the full force of the fiery explosion at point blank range.

"Gabite!" cried Harry. When the flames died away, Gabite's body was smoking slightly. Typhlosion let go of his neck and he fell to the ground.

"Gabite is unable to battle, Typhlosion wins!" called Thorton's assistant, "The victory goes to the Johto Tower Tycoon Thorton!"

Harry felt humiliated. Not because he had lost but because Gabite had been the same as he had before Snowpoint City. Harry had thought that Gabite would be obedient to him after being beaten by Brandon's Trapinch but for some reason the Cave Pokemon had ignored him again.

"Harry," said Thorton and he and Typhlosion stepped forwards, "Does your Gabite usually disobey you?"

"He hasn't done so since he was beaten by Pyramid King Brandon's Trapinch," Harry said.

"I see," Thorton was and was quiet for a moment, "I think your Gabite might be under the impression that it could defeat Typhlosion simply by having the type advantage. Fire type moves are not very effective on Gabite, as I'm sure you know, and therefore he arrogantly assumed victory was guaranteed simply because of his typing. I think that's why he didn't listen to you."

Harry looked at Gabite's scorched body. Blast Burn had put Flamethrower to shame in terms of power and Gabite looked rather badly hurt. Harry sighed and recalled Gabite.

"Do you think he'll have learned some humility now that a Fire type has defeated him?" he asked. Thorton shrugged.

"I hope so for your sake," he said.

 **Taser101, I've answered reviews from my very first reviewer because I might not have made it this far without her support.**


	55. Dawn's Bitchy Rival

The group, accompanied by Lyra, visited the Pokemon Contest hall the next day. Once they arrived Dawn stiffened when she recognized someone. And then she went pale when she saw two very cute Pokemon, a Plusle and a Minun.

"Hey Dane are you okay?" asked Lyra. Nobody was sure if it was her accent or a strange quirk that resulted in her calling Dawn, "Dane" but Dawn didn't mind.

"It's Ursula," Dawn said. Harry looked at her in confusion.

"Who's Ursula?" he asked.

"Dawn's newest rival," Ash said, "You would probably call her a total bitch." Harry smirked. The "total bitch" turned to the group and raised her eyebrows.

"Oh," she said, "It's you guys."

"Hi," Dawn said cautiously, "How many ribbons do you have Ursula? I've got four."

"So do I," Ursula said and smirked, "And today I'm going to get my fifth. Let me introduce the Pokemon I'll be using in my double performance." Plusle and Minun jumped onto both of her shoulders and waved happily. Dawn fell onto her knees and covered her head.

"No, no, no, no," she cried. Everyone looked confused by her weird behaviour.

"What's the matter?" asked Lyra, "Look how cute they are." She took out her pokedex.

" _Plusle the Cheering Pokemon._ _It cheers on partners while scattering sparks from its body. It climbs telephone poles to absorb electricity_."

" _Minun the Cheering Pokemon._ _It cheers on its friends and if they are losing, its body lets off more and more sparks_."

"How rude can you get?" Ursula scolded, "If you keep this up you'll hurt Plusle and Minun's feelings."

"Sorry," Dawn mumbled and stood up. Plusle and Minun were looking up at her in confusion. Ursula had her hands on her hips, "Excuse me." Dawn picked up Piplup and hurried away. Even Piplup didn't know what was wrong.

"What's up with her?" asked Ursula.

"Not a clue," Harry replied and glanced at Ash and Brock who also shrugged.

"Hmph," grunted Ursula, "Well she'd better pull herself together so I get more satisfaction out of creaming her in the contest." She stalked away and Plusle and Minun followed her.

"Come on," Brock said, "We need to find out what's bothering Dawn."

* * *

They found Dawn in the Contest Hall lobby. Lyra sat beside her while the boys sat in front of her.

"What's up, Dane?" Lyra asked. Dawn sighed.

"I don't like Plusle and Minun," she said.

"Why not?" Ash asked, "Did you try to catch them once and fail?" Dawn shook her head.

"No," she said, "It happened before I even met Piplup. I was just a little girl and Kenny and I were in school together."

"Who's Kenny?" Harry asked.

"A friend of mine," Dawn said, "Anyway our class had a Plusle and Minun and Kenny and I were told to clear up their play pen. But when Plusle and Minun were running around I had to catch them. When I did they shocked me and my hair was made all spikey and sparkly. Kenny decided to call me Diamond Dandruff or Dee Dee for short from then on. Then the whole class saw me and it was so embarrassing."

"So that's why you don't like being called Dee Dee," said Ash and Dawn nodded.

"I just don't know why Plusle and Minun did that to me," she muttered, "I was just trying to be their friend."

"Pokemon rarely attack a human unless they feel provoked," Brock told her. Dawn thought about that.

"Well I don't know what I did to provoke them," she said sadly.

"Maybe you squeezed them too hard when you caught them?" suggested Ash. Dawn tried to remember. Then she stared at the floor.

"Maybe I did," she muttered, "So it was my fault."

"Hey Dane you were just a little girl," Lyra said comfortingly. At that moment Riolu perked up; he'd been so absorbed in Dawn's story that he had ignored the Aura emanating from behind one of the pillars.

"Riolu?" Harry asked and Riolu jumped down and glared at one of the pillars. Harry and Ash looked at each other then used their very limited Aura senses to get a vague idea of who was there.

"Ursula!" yelled Ash, "We know you're there!" Ursula appeared looking amused. Plusle and Minun were on her shoulders.

"That story was cute," she said smugly, "Thanks for telling me how to beat you today." She strode away. Dawn was flushing with anger and embarrassment.

"Hey you cream her today and Plusle and Minun won't bother you anymore," Brock said.

"Yeah, I mean you beat her last time with Pachirisu even though she was using Gabite," Ash said.

"Yeah," Dawn said, then smiled and jumped to her feet, "You're right. Thanks guys." She hurried away to get changed for the contest.

* * *

Dawn and Ursula were the last two coordinators to perform in the appeal round. Dawn was first.

"Piplup, Buneary spotlight!" she called and sent out the pair, "Bubblebeam and Ice Beam!" Piplup jumped into the air and spun before sending Bubblebeam in all directions. Buneary froze all of them with Ice Beam, "Buneary Bounce!" Buneary jumped and bounced from one frozen bubble to the next, "Alright Dizzy Punch and Piplup use Drill Peck!" Buneary shattered frozen bubbles with her powerful ears while Piplup smashed them by spinning while his beak glowed white. The stage was showered with sparkles and the crowd cheered.

"Wow Dane was great!" cried Lyra, "Maybe I should try that someday."

Finally it was Ursula's turn. She sent out Plusle and Minun, causing Dawn to swallow when she saw the two Cheering Pokemon.

"Minun use Light Screen and Plusle use Charge!" ordered Ursula and Minun formed a yellow box around both itself and its partner while Plusle sparked with electricity, "Alright Minun now use Charm and then Helping Hand!"

"Minun!" cried Minun and winked at the audience and hearts spun around both it and Plusle before rising into the air. Next Minun created a ball of light blue sparks on its hands and danced and cheered before putting its hands on Plusle. When the balls of electricity touched Plusle, it glowed white then multicolored.

"Plusle Discharge and Minun Agility!" called Ursula.

"Pluuuusle!" Plusle released a huge blast of electricity that was so powerful it smashed its way out of the Light Screen and shattered all the hearts above them sending pink sparkles raining down. Meanwhile Minun darted between the bolts of electricity, dodging each one flawlessly before leaping back to Plusle's side as the Discharge ended. Both Cheering Pokémon sparked enthusiastically, held each others paws and raised them into the air as the performance ended.

"That's it for the appeal round!" cried Marian, "Now it's time for our judges to decide who will move onto the battle rounds!"

* * *

Unsurprisingly, Dawn and Ursula both got past the appeal round and then began sweeping through their opponents relatively easily. They faced off against each other in the final round. Dawn looked extremely nervous while Ursula smirked.

"Plusle, Minun let's go!" cried Ursula and sent out the two Cheering Pokemon. Dawn went pale and fumbled slightly as she took out her Poke Balls.

"Mamoswine, Ambipom spotlight!" she cried and sent out the huge Mamoswine and the agile Ambipom, "Mamoswine Ice Shard and Ambipom use Swift!" Mamoswine formed a large orb of ice between its tusks and fired it at Plusle and Minun while Ambipom shot Swift which circled around the Ice Shard as it approached.

"Minun Helping Hand, Plusle Discharge!" called Ursula and Minun created blue sparks on its hands, danced and cheered, and then put its hands on Plusle to give its Discharge a boost. The electrical blast was fired with such precision and power that Dawn's combination was destroyed.

"Blimey even without Charge, Plusle's Discharge is really strong," muttered Harry.

"That's because Minun's Helping Hand powered it up," Brock said.

"Ambipom hit them both with Double Hit!" ordered Dawn and Ambipom's tails glowed purple as she leapt towards Plusle and Minun.

"Spark!" ordered Ursula and both Plusle and Minun lunged at Ambipom with an electrified tackle. Ambipom held off Plusle with one tail and Minun with the other but still received an electric shock in the process.

"Ambipom Double Team and Mamoswine Ancient Power!" ordered Dawn and Ambipom split into a dozen copies which surrounded Plusle and Minun while Mamoswine prepared Ancient Power. Unlike Fossil Pokemon, Mamoswine's Ancient Power consisted of its body glowing white and the glow coming off its body to form a silver ball on the end of its tusks. It then fired the ball at the Plusle and Minun. The Ancient Power passed through one of Ambipom's copies and blew Plusle and Minun into the air, "Double Hit!"

"Ambipom!" Ambipom jumped into the air and struck Plusle with one tail and Minun with the other before leaping away and landing on Mamoswine's back.

"Alright Mamoswine another Ancient Power!" Dawn ordered looking much more confident than she had at the beginning of the battle. Mamoswine fired the silver ball once more.

"Minun Light Screen!" ordered Ursula and Minun formed a yellow box around itself and Plusle which absorbed half of the damage from Ancient Power, "Now use Helping Hand and Plusle use Swift!" Once again Minun put its sparking hands on Plusle who then opened its mouth and sprayed stars over both Mamoswine and Ambipom, "Minun use Spark on Ambipom!"

"Mamoswine intercept Minun with Take Down!" ordered Dawn and Mamoswine charged towards Minun as it charged within a shroud of electricity.

"Dodge it!" cried Ursula and Minun darted right between Mamoswine's legs sending sparks along its underside as it ran. Mamoswine didn't feel the sparks due to being a Ground type but they still caused its fur to stand slightly on end as Minun shot out the other side and slammed into Ambipom.

"Mamoswine Ice Fang!" cried Dawn and Mamoswine's tusks glowed with ice as it turned and charged back towards Minun.

"Minun Agility and Plusle use Swift!" ordered Ursula and Minun darted away from Mamoswine and shot back to its partner while Plusle shot a Swift right into Mamoswine's backside, causing it to increase its momentum as it headed for Ambipom.

"Double Team, Ambipom!" Dawn shouted and Ambipom hastily used Double Team to avoid her partner's Ice Fang, "Alright Focus Punch!"

"Minun Helping Hand and Plusle Discharge!" cried Ursula and the pair used their favourite combination to not only destroy Ambipom's Double Team but also render Focus Punch useless as she was electrocuted.

"Mamoswine catch Ambipom," Dawn cried and Mamoswine charged and stopped beneath Ambipom, cushioning her fall with its soft, furry back. Dawn took a quick glance at her points. She was down to half while Ursula still had about two thirds. The time limit had reached the halfway point, "Alright let's try something different. Mamoswine use Ice Shard and then swallow it!"

"Swallow it?" Ursula said in confusion as Mamoswine created an Ice Shard between its tusks and then opened its mouth and ate it.

"Ambipom Bounce!" called Dawn and Ambipom put both tails on Mamoswine's back and propelled herself into the air. While Ambipom was high above Mamoswine, icicles extended out of the latters fur. Ursula's points shot down so that they were level with Dawn's, "Now Swift around Mamoswine!"

"Ambipom!" cried Ambipom as she descended and sent a Swift spinning around her partner, knocking Ursula's points down further before Ambipom landed on the icicle sticking out of Mamoswine's forehead.

"Mamoswine Take Down!" ordered Dawn and Mamoswine charged with icicles on its back, Swift circling around it and Ambipom perched on the icicle on its forehead.

"Minun Helping Hand and Plusle use Spark on Ambipom!" shouted Ursula.

"Focus Punch Ambipom!" ordered Dawn as Minun powered Plusle up before the latter lunged, aiming for Ambipom who thrust forth both fists. The two attacks collided and there was an explosion but then Mamoswine charged on through and Plusle was sent flying with a squeal of pain.

"Plusle!" screamed Ursula. Plusle twitched and struggled to stand. The Swift around Mamoswine slammed its stars together creating a shower of sparks which reflected off the icicles. Ursula gritted her teeth in fury. One and a half minutes were left and she was down to a quarter of her points, "Alright Minun use Charm!" Minun winked and red hearts surrounded Ambipom and Mamoswine before hitting them and lowering their Attack by two levels.

"Plusle's the attacker, Minun's the defender," Harry noted, "They'll both find it much harder to fight without each others support so if Dawn knocks out just one of them, she'll win."

"Yeah but Ursula just cut down both Mamoswine and Ambipom's attack power with Charm," Brock said. Ash was looking at Plusle who was battered and bruised.

"I don't think that will make a difference in Plusle's state," he said confidently.

"Mamoswine Ice Shard on Plusle!" ordered Dawn and Mamoswine shot Ice Shard towards Plusle.

"Plusle dodge it!" cried Ursula and Plusle leapt away.

"Ambipom use Focus Punch!" Dawn ordered.

"Minun Spark!" cried Ursula. Ambipom's tail-fists glowed as she lunged towards Plusle but Minun intercepted her and knocked her away just before she made contact.

"Ancient Power!" cried Dawn and Mamoswine fired a silver ball from between its tusks.

"Light Screen!" Ursula countered and Minun protected both itself and its partner with a box of yellow light. Plusle looked at its partner gratefully, "Now use Helping Hand and then Plusle Swift!"

"Ambipom use Swift as well!" ordered Dawn as Minun powered up Plusle and Plusle launched the stars. Thanks to the Helping Hand boost, Plusle's Swift overpowered Ambipom's and went on to strike both her and Mamoswine. There were now thirty seconds left on the clock, "Mamoswine Take Down and Ambipom use Swift around it!"

"Mamo!" boomed Mamoswine and thundered towards Plusle and Minun while Ambipom surrounded it with Swift.

"Plusle destroy Swift with Discharge and Minun use Charm!" ordered Ursula and Minun lowered Mamoswine's Attack power by two more levels with pink hearts while Plusle destroyed Swift with a blast of electricity. Mamoswine slammed into Plusle but despite its much larger size, it didn't do very much damage because of Minun's Charm. Plusle was knocked backwards but managed to stay on its feet. Fifteen seconds remained.

"Ambipom Bounce then Swift!" cried Dawn and Ambipom sprang into the air with her tails and rained Swift down on Plusle and Minun. The Light Screen reappeared and absorbed it, "Double Hit!" With five seconds left Ambipom smashed Plusle with one tail and Minun with the other. Plusle was knocked out by the attack and by the time Minun forced itself onto its feet, time was up.

"That's it!" cried Marian, "Times up and Ursula's Plusle has been knocked out! The victor of this years Lilypad Town Pokemon Contest is Dawn!" The crowd burst into applause. Ursula knelt beside her unconscious Plusle while Minun walked sadly over to her. Ursula patted Minun's head gently while Plusle stirred.

"Thank you Plusle and Minun," Ursula said in a gentle voice, far different from her usual arrogance, "You were both brilliant." She looked at Dawn and scowled, then turned and carried her two Pokemon away.

"Well at least she's not like Paul," Harry said from the stands when he saw the way Ursula treated her Pokemon. He glanced at Ash, "So no Ash, I wouldn't call her a _total_ bitch."

* * *

After Dawn received her fifth ribbon, Lyra announced that she was going back to Johto with her father. Her four new friends waved to her as she got on the plane at the Lilypad airport. Harry was holding the Cyndaquil egg as he waved goodbye.


	56. Hatching and Training

Now that Dawn had all five ribbons needed to enter the Grand Festival, the group continued towards Sunnyshore City. Harry liked to carry his egg around with him as he didn't want it to hatch in his backpack.

When they stopped for lunch Harry gave the egg to Brock for safe keeping, then went to a private spot with just Riolu. He let Gabite out of his Poke Ball. Gabite stared at him expressionlessly.

"Gabite do you know why you lost to Thorton's Typhlosion?" Harry asked. Gabite grunted, "It's because you refused to work together with me. Type advantage can only take you so far, especially against experienced opponents."

"Bite, Gabite!" Gabite said indignantly.

"Okay so maybe you are experienced," Harry said, "But obviously you don't know much about working as a team." Gabite leered at him then fired Dragonbreath. Harry ducked.

"Gabite!" Gabite snarled. Harry glanced at Riolu who made a chopping motion with his hand.

"Are you saying you don't think we're a team because I don't put myself in harms way?" Harry asked Gabite and the Cave Pokemon nodded, "Riolu had similar concerns. But he didn't disobey me." Gabite grunted and turned away, "Gabite we got along well in Snowpoint City. You obeyed me when we battled Brandon."

"Gabite, Gabite," grunted Gabite. Harry looked at Riolu who flexed his muscles, then mimed getting punched, presumably imitating the Ice Punch Regigigas had used to knock out Gabite.

"You considered Brandon's Pokemon to be worthy opponents but you didn't think Thorton's Typhlosion would be?" Harry guessed. Gabite hated to admit it but he was impressed Harry could translate Riolu's translation so well, considering Riolu couldn't actually speak to him. Gabite nodded curtly, "Well he defeated you easily. That could have been avoided if you hadn't been arrogant."

"Bite!" snarled Gabite turning to him.

"Gabite type advantage gives a Pokemon the edge but it doesn't guarantee victory," Harry told him, "Far from it. It's not even uncommon for Pokemon to win against Pokemon that have a type advantage against them. I want us to work together like I do with Riolu and the others. And if you like that can even include things like this." Riolu grinned, jumped and slammed a Brick Break onto his trainer's head. Gabite burst out into laughter. Harry had never seen the arrogant creature laugh before. He rubbed his head and smiled slightly, "You see I'm willing to take abuse for my Pokemon and from my Pokemon if I need to. I care about you guys so the least you can do is cooperate with me."

Gabite looked at him for a while then grunted. Harry looked down at Riolu who shrugged helplessly. Harry sighed and recalled Gabite. He went back to his friends and Dawn training with Buneary and Pachirisu while Ash and Brock watched.

"Hey guys look!" Brock called and everyone looked over as the egg started to change its shape. Brock knelt beside the egg interestedly while the others hurried over. Eventually the glow faded and a tiny echidna like Pokemon was in its place.

"Cyndaquil," said the little creature looking around at them all curiously. Harry took out his pokedex.

" _Cyndaquil the Fire Mouse Pokemon. It is timid, and always curls itself up in a ball. If attacked, it flares up its back for protection_."

"Hi Cyndaquil," Harry said. Cyndaquil looked up at him, then looked around at the others. Pikachu, Riolu, Piplup and Pachirisu all greeted the little creature. Cyndaquil stood up, wobbling a little on its never-before-used feet. Harry reacked down and picked it up.

Cyndaquil's back flared and Harry yelped as it scorched his face.

"Ow!" yelled Harry, "That hurt!"

"Try having a Charizard burn you," Ash said, "Believe me that's much more painful."

"Cynda!" cried Cyndaquil and squirmed out of Harry's grip before dropping to the ground, landing unsteadily. It curled up into a ball.

"I think we should give it a bit of space," Brock suggested and the group backed away a bit. Cyndaquil looked around cautiously and slowly uncurled itself. Piplup stepped forwards.

"Piplup!" he said happily. Cyndaquil just looked at him blankly. Then it turned away. Piplup looked insulted.

"How about we have a sparring match Harry?" asked Ash and Harry nodded. They moved into the middle of the clearing, "Pikachu?" Pikachu nodded.

"Riolu?" Harry asked and Riolu nodded too. The two Pokemon faced each other, "Use Aura Sphere!"

"Pikachu Thunderbolt!" ordered Ash and Pikachu countered the orb of Aura energy with a blast of electricity, creating an explosion which frightened Cyndaquil. Nobody except Brock noticed. "Quick Attack!"

"You too!" called Harry and both Pokemon collided head on at full speed. On the sidelines, Cyndaquil winced when it saw them stumble away from each other, rubbing their aching heads. "Aura Sphere!"

"Thunder!" Ash called and Aura Sphere and Thunder collided. Aura Sphere held for a few seconds but then Thunder smashed through. Riolu screamed in pain and Cyndaquil covered its ears.

"Cynda, quil, quil!" it whimpered. Everyone looked over at it.

"Cyndaquil what's wrong?" asked Ash but as he approached Cyndaquil's back blazed defensively.

"I think the fighting is scaring Cyndaquil," Brock said, "After all it is just a baby."

"Cyndaquil you're going to have to battle in future you know," Harry said. Cyndaquil looked at him, then curled up into a ball.

"Buneary, Pachirisu we need to do some more training with Ice Chandelier," Dawn said, referring to a combination she had been practicing for the last three days. Pachirisu sparked determinedly and Buneary jumped excitedly. "Buneary Ice Beam!"

"Buneary!" cried Buneary before firing Ice Beam at Pachirisu.

"Pachirisu Discharge!" Dawn ordered.

"Pachiii!" Pachirisu cried and unleashed Discharge but it was a much more controlled Discharge, focussing electricity only into its tail rather than its whole body so it didn't shoot off in all directions. Instead the Discharge seemed to form a barrier but when Ice Beam hit the barrier it could neither freeze it nor penetrate it. In the end it just exploded like a regular collision between attacks and Pachirisu fell over.

"Dawn is Buneary aiming _around_ Pachirisu or _at_ Pachirisu?" asked Brock.

"At Pachirisu," said Dawn, "Why?"

"Ice Beam's an attack designed to freeze opponents so they can't move," Brock said, "Using Discharge as a barrier is good but Buneary's not able to form the Ice Chandelier as long as Discharge is in the way because it's just like any regular collision with another move."

"I see," Dawn said thoughtfully, "Okay then, Buneary aim Ice Beam _around_ Pachirisu!" Buneary obeyed and the three beams shot around Pachirisu instead of hitting it directly. The beams then formed into a circular ball around the little Pokemon, "Pachirisu you okay in there?"

"Chi, Pa!" Pachirisu called from inside the ball of ice. Cyndaquil, having uncurled itself to watch their less violent training, looked fascinated.

"Cyndaquil," it said.

"Dawn's practicing for the Grand Festival," Harry told it, "She's got to show off her Pokemon with combinations like that."

"Quil," Cyndaquil hurried forwards towards Buneary and gestured at her. Buneary cocked her head curiously.

"What is it Cyndaquil?" asked Dawn. Cyndaquil gestured at Buneary then at itself, "You want to try it?" Cyndaquil nodded. Dawn looked at Harry who shrugged. Buneary fired Ice Beam around Cyndaquil and created a ball of ice. Cyndaquil's back flared up and it rolled on the spot.

"Flame Wheel right after hatching?" Brock said raising an eyebrow.

"Must have inherited it from its parents," Ash speculated. The heat from Flame Wheel quickly melted the Ice away leaving Cyndaquil with a rather dejected expression.

"That was a nice move, Cyndaquil," said Dawn, "But Fire and Ice don't go together very well. Besides Harry's not a coordinator." Cyndaquil looked at her cluelessly, "Your trainer," Dawn elaborated and pointed to Harry. Cyndaquil looked at Harry then at Dawn.

"What's up?" asked Harry.

"Interesting," said Brock, "It seems Cyndaquil is interested in contest training."

"Oh," Harry muttered, "Well I'm not a coordinator."

"No but Dawn is," Brock said. Harry looked at Cyndaquil, then at Dawn. After seeing Thorton's Typhlosion he'd been rather looking forward to raising Cyndaquil himself.

"Let's give it a week or so," Harry decided, "Maybe Cyndaquil will warm up to me.

* * *

A week later, Cyndaquil was still trying to impress Dawn with contest moves rather than impress Harry with battle moves. Harry realized that, while Cyndaquil didn't necessarily dislike him, it definitely liked Dawn more.

"I was looking forward to training Cyndaquil and eventually having a Typhlosion like Thorton's," Harry said one day while Dawn was training.

"Cyndaquil might not even decide to become a Typhlosion," Ash said, "A lot of my Pokemon haven't gotten to their final evolution stage."

"Really?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," Ash said, "I caught Squirtle when I was ten but he didn't evolve into Wartortle until I battled Brandon a year ago. He quit the Squirtle Squad after that. My Bulbasaur still hasn't evolved at all and I've had him for just as long."

"You know Harry, you need to think about what's best for Cyndaquil," Brock said, "If contests are Cyndaquil's passion, you're not the one who should raise him." Harry sighed.

"Perfect Cyndaquil!" cried Dawn as Cyndaquil used a low powered Flame Wheel inside Mamoswine's Ice Beam without melting it until he slammed into the rocks he was using as target practice.

"Hey Dawn!" Harry called and took out Cyndaquil's Poke Ball. Dawn looked up at him. Harry sighed, "Do you want to be Cyndaquil's trainer?"

"What?" Dawn said.

"Well you virtually _are_ his trainer already," Harry said and held out the Poke Ball, "Why don't we make it official?"

"Are you sure?" asked Dawn.

"I'd like to have a Typhlosion but Cyndaquil obviously prefers you over me," said Harry, "Besides I've got Chimchar." Dawn looked at the Poke Ball, then at Cyndaquil.

"What do you say Cyndaquil?" she asked. Cyndaquil immediately jumped into her arms. Harry was a bit hurt by how easily he had made his choice.

"Well Cyndaquil's yours," he said and handed Dawn the Poke Ball.

"Thanks," Dawn said, "And I'm sorry." Harry shrugged.

"He'll be happy with you," he said.

* * *

Harry, Ash, Brock and Dawn were lost. Harry had long ago given up using his map and even Brock's pokegear wasn't helping.

"Pika!" said Pikachu suddenly and pointed at the sky. An orb of orange light was accending and then it burst and meteors burst out of it and rained down on the ground.

"Hey was that a Draco Meteor?" asked Ash.

"Yep," Brock said, "Let's go find out what Pokemon used it." The group hurried towards the source of the Draco Meteor.

"Alright Altaria," said a woman's voice and the foursome emerged from the forest to see a wide open space with an old woman and an Altaria standing in the middle. Off at the edge of the clearing was a small bungalow, "Try it one more time."

"Aaaaaltaria!" said Altaria and put its wings in front of its body then held them out and an orange light appeared inside of its chest. The rest of its body also glowed orange as it held up its head and formed an orange ball of energy in its beak. It then fired the ball into the sky and it exploded, sending orange meteors raining down on the area.

"Aah!" yelped the four visitors and started running around like headless chickens trying to dodge all the meteors. Altaria and the old woman looked over at them in surprise.

"Oh dear what are you children doing here?" she asked once the Draco Meteor was over.

"Sorry," said Dawn, "We got lost and then we saw your Altaria's Draco Meteor. I'm Dawn and these are my friends."

"Pleased to meet you," said the old woman, "I'm Wilma although everyone calls me Grandma Wilma. I specialize in training Dragon types."

"I'm Harry."

"My name's Ash."

"And I'm Brock."

"Well you should be careful when a Pokemon is practicing Draco Meteor," said Wilma, "It's very difficult to control."

"I've never seen an Altaria before," Dawn said, "It's beautiful."

" _Altaria the Humming Pokémon and evolved form of Swablu. It flies freely through the sky and blends into the clouds. It sings in a beautiful soprano_."

"Could you help my Gabite learn Draco Meteor?" Harry asked hopefully.

"If you wish," Wilma said, "But let me finish my training with Altaria first. It shouldn't take much longer for her to master Draco Meteor. Please stand back." Everyone obeyed. For some reason Wilma put Altaria in her Poke Ball before letting her out again.

"Why did you do that?" asked Harry.

"To recharge Draco Meteor's power," Wilma explained, "Alright Altaria use Draco Meteor!" Altaria concentrated her power into the center of her body, opened her beak and shot Draco Meteor into the air. The orb exploded and meteors rained down. This time however everyone had made sure they were out of range.

"Altari?" Altaria looked at Wilma who smiled at her.

"Perfect," she said, "I don't think you need anymore training with that move." She turned to the group.

"Gabite come on out," Harry released Gabite who looked at Altaria, "Gabite, Grandma Wilma here helps Dragon types learn Draco Meteor. Would you like to learn it?" Gabite grunted and pointed at Altaria.

"Well Altaria I think Gabite wants you to show him Draco Meteor," Wilma said. Altaria nodded and Wilma recalled her, then released her again. Gabite raised his eyebrow at this. Altaria then launched a perfect Draco Meteor into the air. Gabite allowed the Draco Meteor to hit him in order to see how much the attack hurt. The Draco Meteor blasted him off his feet and he groaned in pain. He took a moment to recover, looked at Altaria and smiled, impressed by Draco Meteor's power.

"Gabite," he said, then looked at Harry, "Bite, Gabite."

"Okay so that's a yes?" Harry guessed and Gabite nodded.

"Alright then," Wilma said, "In order to use Draco Meteor a Pokemon needs to focus all of their Dragon type powers into the center of their bodies. Then they shoot that power straight up and if successful, the orb explodes and Draco Meteor rains down on the battlefield. However Draco Meteor's like Overheat or Leaf Storm so it gets weaker each time it's used. It's very difficult for a wild Pokemon to learn it because it takes them at least an hour to rebuild their power to the same degree as when they used it the first time. Also they mustn't engage in any strenuous activity during that hour. A Pokemon gets recharged instantly when it goes in a Poke Ball."

"Okay Gabite ready to…" before Harry could finish his sentence, Gabite shot an orb into the air. The orb then descended towards Harry, "Aah!" The meteor landed on top of Harry and exploded leaving him lying dazed on the ground. Riolu and Gabite burst out into laughter as Harry sat up and rubbed his head.

It was evening by the time they felt it was time to stop. Gabite hadn't mastered the move but at least he was able to get a few meteors to burst out of the orb instead of having it just fall back to the ground. However Harry was in a lot of pain by now. Judging by the amused look Gabite kept giving him, Harry had a feeling that hitting him with Draco Meteor wasn't entirely accidental.

"Gabite, you're enjoying this aren't you?" Harry said and Gabite smirked.

* * *

The group stayed with Grandma Wilma for two days and during that time Gabite managed to get six meteors, five of which landed on Harry and one even landed on Piplup. It was very amusing for the others.

Grandma Wilma assured the group that she couldn't speed up the learning process so all Gabite could do was keep practicing. With that in mind the group said goodbye to the old lady and continued on their journey.

 **I originally wrote this chapter with Ash's Gible in it, but in the end I thought that since Harry's got Gabite, adding Gible was pointless. Also Harry has Floatzel and Chimchar and Ash has Buizel and Monferno so having more members of the same evolutionary line among the main characters is unnecessary.**


	57. Identity Swap

Harry, Ash, Dawn and Brock were heading towards Sunnyshore City, hoping that Harry and Ash could earn their eighth Sinnoh Gym Badge before the Grand Festival. They soon reached a small town which happened to have a contest hall.

"Hey," Brock said, "There's a contest taking place tomorrow."

"Well I have no need to worry about that," Dawn said cheerfully. Then she paused as she saw a familiar girl pass by. The girl didn't seem to notice them, although considering her arrogant attitude there was a good chance she was just ignoring them. It was Ursula.

"Guess she still doesn't have five ribbons," Harry said.

"This is the last contest before the Grand Festival," Brock said.

"Excuse me," said a feminine voice behind them and the group turned to see a pretty woman who seemed to be in her late twenties approaching them, "You must be Lady Dawn. We've been waiting for you."

"You have?" Dawn asked confused, then Brock leapt forwards eagerly. This woman had to be nearly a decade older than him but she was very pretty. Ash and Dawn were a bit uncomfortable about Brock flirting with a woman a fair few years older than him but Harry didn't see a problem with it. Women got into relationships with older men all the time so why shouldn't it work the other way around?

"I'm Brock dear lady and I am overcome by your beauty!" he said and hearts appeared in his eyes, "It sends pangs of love down my SPINE!" The last word was a yelp of pain as Croagunk Poison Jabbed him and dragged him away.

"Sorry about that," mumbled Ash.

"Well it was very flattering," said the woman, "My name is Freesia and I'm here to escort Lady Dawn to visit Princess Salvia."

"Princess?" Dawn asked.

"Blimey who knew you'd become so popular that royalty would want to meet you," Harry said.

* * *

When Freesia led the foursome into Princess Salvia's chamber inside the manor house on the edge of town, Harry, Ash and Brock had to pause and look between Dawn and the princess. The hairstyle and clothes were different but apart from that they were identical. When the princess spoke however it was in a more cultured, refined way than Dawn's way of speaking.

"Welcome," Salvia said, "I am so glad I got a chance to meet you Dawn. You were magnificent in the Wallace Cup; I especially enjoyed your battle against May's Glaceon."

"Thank you," Dawn said. This was weird; it was like talking to her own twin.

"Allow me to introduce you," said Freesia, "The Lady standing before you is Princess Salvia."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Salvia said and curtsied, then looked at the boys, "You must be Ash, Brock and Harry. I saw you in the Hearthome City Tag Battle Competition in addition to the Wallace Cup. Harry, I was impressed by the way you got the crowd to love your Spiritomb."

"Thanks," Harry said, "I only really entered the Wallace Cup for Spiritomb's sake. Up until then everyone was afraid of him."

"May I see him?" asked Salvia. Harry blinked, then let out Spiritomb. Salvia approached Spiritomb gracefully, without any sign of fear. Spiritomb smiled warmly at her. If she was unnerved by the unintentionally evil looking smile, Salvia was doing an excellent job of hiding it, "He is an interesting creature. Until the Wallace Cup, I had no idea such a Pokemon existed."

"Well he's extremely rare," Harry said, "Arguably Legendary. I've only seen one other trainer who owns a Spiritomb. I was very lucky." Spiritomb smiled at him. Salvia reached out, then hesitated.

"May I?" she asked.

"Go ahead," Harry said and Salvia put her hand gently on Spiritomb's keystone. The Forbidden Pokemon looked happy.

"Can he feel this?" asked Salvia, "Is the keystone part of his body?"

"No," Harry said, "Whenever he withdraws into it, he can't feel attacks. It's basically Protect but without the barrier. Fortunately the keystone is actually rather useful in battle, so Spiritomb doesn't mind carrying it around all the time, do you Spiritomb?"

"Spiritomb," Spiritomb agreed. He used to hate the keystone but now he wasn't sure he could exist without it. It was part of him, even if he couldn't feel anything through it.

"Well I'm glad I got to meet this fascinating creature in person," Salvia said and stepped back. Harry recalled Spiritomb and Salvia looked at Dawn, "Dawn, I confess I did not ask Freesia to bring you here just so that I could meet you. I also have a request. Officially I am supposed to oversee the Arrowroot Town Pokemon Contest. However I wish to participate in the contest with my Togekiss," she paused uncertainly, "Would you mind taking my place as ambassador whilst I compete?"

"You want me to pretend I'm a Princess?" Dawn asked.

"Yes," Salvia said, "Please say that you will."

"Okay!" Dawn said enthusiastically, "Being a princess sounds awesome!" Salvia smiled a bit sadly.

"It is not as great as it sounds," she warned, "There is a lot of responsibility and pressure for perfection."

"No need to worry," Dawn said, "I can handle it."

* * *

Once Dawn and Salvia had swapped clothes the only way the others could tell them apart was by the sound of their voices.

"I must confess I am a little uncomfortable in this outfit," Salvia said. Dawn's clothes showed off her legs a bit too much.

"Your Highness it suits you," Freesia said reassuringly, "You look like you have more freedom in those clothes."

"True?" asked Salvia and Freesia nodded sincerely. It was nice to see the Princess able to move around without having to be graceful all the time, "Well then I'm sure it is fine. Togekiss come on out," she opened a Poke Ball and a large Pokemon that resembled a cross between a fairy and a bird appeared.

" _Togekiss the Jubilee Pokemon and the evolved form of Togetic. It visits peaceful regions and is said to never appear where there is needless strife_ "

"Togekiss has been training hard in the hopes that she could enter a contest," Salvia said, "And now our chance has finally come." Togekiss nuzzled her trainer fondly. Then there was a knock on the door. A brief look of panic crossed Salvia's pretty face, "Return!" Togekiss disappeared as the door opened and an elderly butler entered.

"Your Highness are you prepared?" he asked then noticed the guests.

"Alright dear guests, right this way," Freesia said and led Harry, Ash, Brock and Salvia out of the room, leaving Dawn with the butler.

"Princess I don't recall there being any meeting scheduled at this time," he said.

"It was last minute," Dawn said. She hoped the old man's hearing wasn't good enough to notice the difference in her and Salvia's voices.

"I see," the butler said, "Well as I was saying are you prepared for the contest? Remember everyone you are about to meet and greet is important to the stability of our land. You must hold yourself with the utmost grace and smile at all times."

"Got it," Dawn said, then winced as she realized Salvia almost certainly wouldn't speak like that.

"And you must use the appropriate language too," the butler said.

* * *

Harry, Ash, Brock and Salvia stood outside the contest hall. Salvia looked nervous.

"No need to worry," Ash said, mimicking Dawn's favourite phrase, "We'll be cheering you on."

"Hey!" yelled a voice and the group turned around to see Ursula storming towards them, "Why the hell are you entering this contest? You've already got five ribbons!"

"Well I…" Salvia looked flustered; she didn't even know who Ursula was and the other girl was in her personal space too, "I just wanted to enter for fun."

"You want to stop me from getting my fifth ribbon don't you?" snarled Ursula, "And to add insult to injury your wearing street clothes! Well I'm winning this contest!" She stalked past Salvia and entered the contest hall.

"Who was she?" asked Salvia, looking even more nervous than before.

"That's Ursula," Harry said, "Don't worry; she's always like that."

"And she's still smarting from Dawn beating her in two contests already," Brock added.

"I see," Salvia said uncomfortably then looked at her outfit, "Freesia said I looked fine."

"You do," Harry assured her, "It's just that in contests people usually have more fancy outfits."

"But that doesn't matter because it's more important to show off your Pokemon than yourself," Ash added, remembering Zoey's advice to Dawn, "In fact if you go dressed like that you could really show the judges that your Pokemon's more important to you than your own appearance." Salvia smiled.

"Thank you," she said and they entered the contest. Harry wondered if all coordinators should enter contests without dressing up first.

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Arrowroot Town Pokemon Contest!" cried Marian, "It's now time for us to see our first competitor, Dawn!" The crowd cheered. Salvia entered the arena, blushing slightly and took out Togekiss' Poke Ball.

"Togekiss, enter please!" she cried and nobody except Harry, Brock and Ash noticed that she didn't use Dawn's signature contest phrase.

"Togekiss!" cried Togekiss as she burst out of her Poke Ball.

"Aura Sphere!" Salvia ordered and Togekiss formed a blue orb, larger than Riolu's Aura Sphere even though it lacked a STAB boost, and sent it flying into the air, "Now Sky Attack!" Togekiss glowed white and flew straight up at the Aura Sphere, hitting it it with enough power to smash it apart and create blue Aura around her body, "Now for an elegant finish. Safeguard!"

"Togeeee!" cried Togekiss and created a crystalized green force field around her body causing the Aura to reflect off the Safeguard. Togekiss gracefully descended, slowly to ensure that the Aura energy descended at the same time, drawing attention to how it sparkled on the Safeguard. Once Togekiss landed, her and Salvia both bowed.

"Excellent performance!" cried the first judge.

"Remarkable!" said the second.

"Togekiss timed its descent perfectly to ensure we could really see its grace and beauty," said Nurse Joy.

After several more performances, it was Ursula's turn. The arrogant girl smirked as she rushed onto the stage with more confidence than Salvia had shown.

"Jigglypuff let's go!" she cried and a small round pink Pokemon with extremely large eyes appeared, "Use Captivate!" Jigglypuff winked at the crowd and glowing hearts emerged from her body, then spun around her in a circle, "Gyro Ball!" Light blue orbs appeared at the end of Jigglypuff's hands, and her body becmes surrounded by light blue sparkles. Jigglypuff then began to spin rapidly and circled through the hearts she had created with Captivate, mixing pink and blue sparkles together, "Flash!"

"Jiggly!" cried Jigglypuff and stopped spinning before her entire body flashed brightly, dazzling the crowd and the judges. Once the light faded, Jigglypuff jumped into her trainer's arms and Ursula held her up for all to see.

"Jigglypuff looked adorable!" cried the first judge.

"And remarkable too," said the second.

"Jigglypuff's display of cuteness enabled made that final Flash all the more dazzling," said Nurse Joy.

"That's it for the appeal round," cried Marian, "We'll now take a short break while the judges decided who will advance to the second round!"

* * *

"I'm so glad I decided to enter," said Salvia when the boys met her backstage, "It's such a rush of adrenaline. It's thrilling isn't it, Togekiss?"

"Toge," Togekiss nodded.

"Well wait until you get into battle," Harry said, "That's even more thrilling."

"But Pokemon get hurt in battle," Salvia said.

"That's true but Pokemon battles are supposed to be fun," said Brock, "Like they say, no pain no gain."

"Togekiss are you ready for the battle round?" asked Salvia. Togekiss got a look of determination on her face and nodded.

* * *

Ursula and Salvia both advanced through the competition. Salvia struggled a bit more than Ursula due to the latter being more experienced and as the contest went on, Ursula got more and more sure of herself, while Salvia started to feel like she was out of her depth. However that only made her more determined to impress everyone. It was a mindset that had been implanted into her for as long as she could remember, where she had to impress all the rich snobs she couldn't care less about. The only difference was she she actually _did_ care about her contest performance, not for her own sake but for Togekiss. Truthfully she would much prefer to have a life like Dawn's and she had never felt as free as she did now.

Salvia and Ursula both made it to the final stage. Before the final match began however, Marian announced "We're on the final stage, but before the battle begins, we have a surprise for you!" She gestured to the closed curtains above the screen on which the coordinators points were displayed. The curtains opened and Dawn appeared, waving shyly, "Princess Salvia has managed to find time in her schedule to come and witness the final stage battle."

"Hello everyone," Dawn called, thankful that all her previous experience in contests enabled her to keep her voice steady in front of the crowd. The crowd cheered. Nobody noticed that her voice was different, except perhaps the butler who was looking at her suspiciously. Then he looked at Salvia down on the battlefield. Dawn noticed him looking between them and realized he was starting to make the connection. Fortunately Marian continued before the butler could call Dawn out on her bluff. Not wanting to interrupt the contest battle, the butler closed his mouth and stayed silent.

"Without further ado, let the battle begin!" Marian yelled and the clock started.

"Togekiss, enter please!" cried Salvia and Togekiss burst out of her Poke Ball. Ursula smirked as she threw her own Poke Ball.

"Gabite, let's go!" she cried and a female Gabite burst out of the ball.

"Togekiss use Aura Sphere!" ordered Salvia and Togekiss fired the unavoidable orb at Gabite.

"Dragon Claw!" ordered Ursula and Gabite lunged and slashed the Aura Sphere apart with her glowing blue claws, creating sparkles around her body, "Now Aerial Ace!" White streaks surrounded Gabite's body and she rammed into Togekiss knocking her backwards.

"Togekiss, Sky Attack!" ordered Salvia and Togekiss glowed white and flew towards Gabite.

"Stone Edge!" called Ursula and Gabite formed spinning stones around her body and sent them flying towards Togekiss. Togekiss squealed in pain and tumbled towards the ground, "Dragon Claw!" Gabite lunged and slashed Togekiss who wailed and fell to the ground.

"Togekiss!" cried Salvia. Only thirty seconds had gone by and already Togekiss was loosing and Salvia had lost a third of her points, "Please Togekiss get a hold of yourself!"

"Gabite use Dragon Rage!" ordered Ursula and Gabite fired a huge orb of orange energy at Togekiss.

"Aura Sphere!" cried Salvia and Togekis hastily fired Aura Sphere which collided with Dragon Rage and created an explosion. Salvia decided to take advantage of the smoke, "Togekiss use Sky Attack!" Togekiss shot out of the smoke, surrounded by white energy.

"Jump Gabite!" ordered Ursula and Gabite sprang into the air, dodging Sky Attack easily, "Use Dragon Claw!" Gabite's claws glowed blue and she descended, intending to finish the battle with one more strike.

"Dodge with ExtremeSpeed!" ordered Salvia. One moment Togekiss was underneath Gabite and the next she had shot away so fast that she was a blur. She stopped behind the surprised Gabite, "Air Slash!" Togekiss formed a blade of wind and hurled it at Gabite sending her crashing to the ground. Togekiss' dodge and powerful blow on Gabite had caused Ursula to lose a quarter of her points. She was still ahead of Salvia but had been caught off guard by Togekiss' speed.

"Gabite!" cried Ursula. Gabite growled and picked herself up, glaring at Togekiss, "Alright use Stone Edge!" Sharp stones spun around Gabite and she sent them soaring towards Togekiss.

"ExtremeSpeed!" cried Salvia and Togekis darted between the stones before slamming into Gabite with astonishing speed.

"Gabite use Aerial Ace!" cried Ursula.

"Sky Attack!" ordered Salvia and Sky Attack's power and Togekiss STAB allowed her to overwhelm Gabite's Aerial Ace easily and send Gabite crashing to the ground. Now Salvia had more points than Ursula and there were three minutes left. After only two minutes of battling, Gabite and Togekiss were already getting tired.

"Aura Sphere!" ordered Salvia and Togekiss fired another blue orb at Gabite.

"Dragon Claw!" cried Ursula and Gabite destroyed the Aura Sphere, creating sparkles around her body before lunging towards Togekiss.

"Dodge it!" called Salvia and this time Togekiss dodged gracefully without using ExtremeSpeed, enabling everyone to see how elegantly she had avoided Dragon Claw, instead of moving so fast it was hard to see her. This was a wise move as Ursula's points once again descended to less than Salvia's, "Air Slash!"

"Toge," Togekiss cried and spun around gracefully before hurling another Air Slash at Gabite.

"Use Stone Edge!" cried Ursula and Gabite used the attack to form a barrier around her body, blocking Air Slash and reducing Salvia's points, before sending the stones flying at Togekiss.

"ExtremeSpeed!" cried Salvia and Togekiss shot away from the sharp stones and slammed into Gabite, who simply wasn't fast enough to avoid the attack.

"ExtremeSpeed's an amazing move," Harry said and Riolu nodded in agreement.

The clock was only half way and both Togekiss and Gabite were running out of steam.

"Gabite use Dragon Rage!" cried Ursula.

"Aura Sphere!" ordered Salvia. Dragon Rage and Aura Sphere collided and there was another explosion, "Now use Sky Attack!" Togekiss glowed white again and flew down towards Gabite.

"Double Team!" cried Ursula and Gabite split into a dozen copies.

Salvia wasn't worried. She shouted "Aura Sphere!" and Togekiss shot an Aura Sphere with automatically locked onto the real Gabite's Aura and circled the entire Double Team, destroying each clone until it hit Gabite, "I am afraid that although you can block Aura Sphere, you cannot dodge it. ExtremeSpeed."

"Dodge!" screamed Ursula and this time Gabite just barely managed to avoid Togekiss who flew past her extremely quickly, "Dragon Rage!" Gabite turned and fired Dragon Rage towards Togekiss.

"Dive down and use Aura Sphere!" called Salvia and Togekiss dived down, spinning as she went before pulling up before hitting the ground and shooting Aura Sphere.

"Aerial Ace!" ordered Ursula and the Flying type move allowed Gabite to break through the Fighting type move and finally land another blow on Togekiss. All the dodging in addition to the damage she took at the beginning of the battle was exhausting the Jubilee Pokemon. However Gabite was also getting worn out.

"Air Slash!" Salvia ordered and Togekiss shot another blade of wind at Gabite.

"Dodge it and use Dragon Rage!" cried Ursula and Gabite jumped over the Air Slash and then fired another Dragon Rage.

"Dodge it!" Salvia cried and Togekiss dodged the attack elegantly. It seemed like the battle had been going on forever but the clock was finally down to the last minute. Ursula and Salvia both had a quarter of their points left, "Sky Attack!" Togekiss glowed white and lunged towards Gabite.

"Double Team!" Ursula called and Gabite split into a dozen copies, "Dragon Claw!"

"Aura Sphere then ExtremeSpeed!" ordered Salvia and Togekiss let Aura Sphere lock onto the real Gabite's Aura while she shot up to avoid all of the lunging Gabite. Although Gabite's Dragon Claw missed, she noticed the Aura Sphere circle around towards her and quickly slashed it apart before landing on the ground again. She looked up and saw Togekiss high above her. Salvia took a quick look at her points. She and Ursula were still neck and neck.

"Safeguard!" ordered Salvia. Against Gabite Safeguard wouldn't actually be of any use due to her lack of status moves, but it still showed off Togekiss' beauty. Gabite's eyes narrowed, furious that Togekiss had the audacity to use Safeguard simply because she could. It was as though Salvia and Togekiss didn't consider Gabite to be a worthy opponent.

"Bite!" she cried and blue energy surrounded her. Having a Gabite of his own, Harry was the first one to recognize the move.

"Uh oh," he said, "Gabite learned Dragon Rush!" Gabite shot towards Togekiss and Salvia's points descended. There were twenty five seconds left. Salvia thought quickly. A head on collision in Togekiss' exhausted state would be dangerous but maybe she could cushion the impact. Safeguard wouldn't work but another idea burst into Salvia's mind in a flash.

"Aura Sphere then Sky Attack!" she yelled and Togekiss formed Aura Sphere in front of her body but didn't fire it as she surrounded herself with Sky Attack. The Aura Sphere burst and Aura mixed with the white light from Sky Attack so that it looked like Togekiss was also using Dragon Rush. The crowd gasped in astonishment at the sight. Togekiss and Gabite collided and an explosion blasted through the stadium. It took fifteen of the remaining twenty seconds to clear.

When the smoke cleared Togekiss was still hovering, Aura Sphere having cushioned the impact of her collision with Gabite. Remarkably, Gabite herself was still standing, battered and bruised but defiant.

"That's it!" cried Marian, "Time's up!" Everyone looked up at the score board. Learning Dragon Rush would have given Ursula the victory if not for Salvia's powerful and beautiful Aura Sphere and Sky Attack combination. That combination had made all the difference, which was still so small that the judges and Marian had to squint to see the difference in points, "After an incredibly close battle, the winner of the Arrowroot Town Pokemon Contest is Dawn!"

"We won," Salvia said softly, staring at the scoreboard. Togekiss flew over to her and Salvia's eyes shimmered with tears, "Togekiss we won. I am so proud of you."

"Toge," Togekiss said nuzzling her fondly. Salvia looked over at Ursula who stood next to Gabite.

"You were great Gabite," she said, "You fought so hard for me and even learned Dragon Rush. Thank you." She recalled Gabite. However her shoulders were shaking. This had been her last chance to get into this years Grand Festival. Salvia felt sorry for her.

* * *

"Congratulations Dawn," said Mr Contesta as he presented Salvia with her ribbon, "You and your Togekiss were splendid out there. I wish you luck in the Grand Festival."

"Thank you very much," Salvia said and took the ribbon. Togekiss squealed with joy.

* * *

"You are not really the princess are you?" said the butler to Dawn when they left the contest hall, "Lady Salvia would have behaved far better than you at dinner! I should have you arrested for identity theft!"

"It was my idea," Freesia defended, "I wanted the princess to have some freedom for once. If you want Officer Jenny to arrest anyone it should be me!"

"Princess Salvia," Harry called and hurried towards them with Ash, Brock and the real Salvia.

"This is not Princess Salvia!" yelled the butler then looked at the real Salvia, "Princess how could you go along with this… this crime!"

"Crime?" Salvia said, "Is it a crime for me to have some freedom for once in my life?"

"Your duties…" the butler began.

"I cannot live my entire life focussing only on my duties," Salvia said, "If I did I would not be truly living. I did not ask to be a Princess."

"Nonetheless your parents…"

"Are dead," Salvia said bluntly, "Do not bring them into this." Her new friends felt sorry for her when they heard that, "Punish me if you wish but do not punish my friends. I take full responsibility."

"But your Highness, I was the one who…" began Freesia.

"No Freesia," Salvia said and glared at the butler, "It was my choice. Normally I would be happy to let you take credit for my idea but not if it is going to get you in trouble." Freesia looked touched. Even the butler seemed to lose some of his steam. Salvia continued, "I do not enjoy being a Princess. Just for once I wanted to have the opportunity to enjoy myself. To be a normal person. I do not care about wealth and I wish I had not been born with it."

"I had no idea you disliked being a Princess so much," said the butler.

"Well now you know," Salvia said, "Now if you will excuse me, I have one more thing to attend to before I go back to my boring life," she strode away. Everyone watched her go.

"Maybe I should not be so hard on her," the butler said, "I do not want her to be miserable. And clearly entering the contest meant much to her."

"So we're not in trouble?" asked Dawn hopefully.

"Well it was not theft if the Princess was a willing participant," said the butler, "So no, I will not reveal it to anyone."

"Thank you," said Dawn.

* * *

Salvia found Ursula sitting backstage looking miserable. Ursula looked up at her.

"Come to gloat?" she asked, "Thanks to you I lost my last chance to get into this years Grand Festival." Salvia took out her ribbon and held it out. Ursula looked at the ribbon, then at the girl.

"Take it," Salvia insisted. Ursula hesitated. She wanted to win her ribbons fair and square but if she didn't take the ribbon now, she would have to wait a whole year before she could enter the Grand Festival, "You are a fine coordinator, Ursula and you very nearly defeated me. Your Gabite was a formidable opponent. And you need this ribbon more than I do."

"What happened to your voice?" asked Ursula suddenly and Salvia flushed.

"Is that really relevant now?" she asked. Ursula looked at her for a long moment.

"No, I suppose it isn't," she smirked slightly, "Your Highness." Salvia's uncomfortable expression confirmed that she was right.

Ursula took the ribbon and looked at it. She felt much better now that she knew it was Salvia, not Dawn, who had defeated her. If she had lost to Dawn three times in a row, she would have no choice but to respect her – even Ursula's excuses for losing were not unlimited – and since she and Dawn were unfriendly to say the least, respecting her was the last thing Ursula wanted to do. However she had no reason to dislike Salvia, apart from losing to her. Even Ursula had to admit that wasn't much of a reason, especially since Salvia was kind enough to give away her ribbon so that Ursula had a shot at the Grand Festival.

"Thank you," Ursula said, with a humility that even she didn't know she was capable of. Then she walked past Salvia and out of the room.

* * *

Back in Salvia's palace, she and Dawn had changed back into their normal clothes.

"Please do visit again, Dawn," Salvia said.

"But next time please do not swap identities with the Princess," said the butler, "I will make sure she has more freedom from now on."

"Okay," Dawn said, "Goodbye Princess Salvia," she and her friends turned to leave.

"Wait," Salvia called. Everyone looked at her. She hesitated, then opened Togekiss' Poke Ball. The Jubilee Pokemon looked at her curiously, "Togekiss do you wish to participate in more contests?"

"Toge," Togekiss nodded. Salvia smiled but it was a sad smile. She looked at Dawn.

"Will you take Togekiss with you?" she asked, "I will never be truly free of my royal life and I accept that. But Togekiss can be."

"Are you sure?" asked Dawn.

"I want Togekiss to be happy," Salvia said simply. Togekiss wasn't looking happy right now but that was because she really loved her trainer and Salvia loved her. Togekiss enveloped Salvia with her wings. Salvia hugged her back tightly, crying slightly, "I love you, Togekiss. I will miss you."

"Togekiss," Togekiss said sadly. Salvia reluctantly let go, then held out her beloved Pokemon's Poke Ball to Dawn.

"That's seven Pokémon, Dawn," Harry reminded her, "You'll have to send one of your others home."

"Oh yeah," Dawn said. She looked at the Poke Ball while she thought about who to send back to her mother's house. Eventually she decided to send Ambipom as she took Togekiss' Poke Ball, "I'll look after Togekiss."

"I know you will," Salvia replied and smiled even though her eyes were still wet, "Farewell."

Harry was impressed by Salvia's selflessness. He had only ever given away Cyndaquil, whom he had never really bonded with in the first place. He couldn't imagine giving away a Pokemon that meant as much to him as Salvia's Togekiss meant to her.


	58. Galactic Battles Part 1

"Gabite, Draco Meteor!" Harry ordered and Gabite shot Draco Meteor into the air. Six meteors exploded out of it and all of them descended towards him, "Bronzor Light Screen!" Bronzor hurried in front of its trainer and used Light Screen to absorb the meteors. Harry still felt the impact but with Light Screen cutting the power in half, it only caused mild discomfort. "You're getting there, Gabite." Gabite shrugged dismissively.

"Rio?" said Riolu suddenly, sensing an Aura nearby which wasn't from a member of the group. Everyone turned to him. Riolu closed his eyes. Then he pointed to a field and hurried towards it. The others followed, Harry recalling Gabite and Bronzor in the process.

A Croagunk was lying in the field, looking badly hurt. Brock's Croagunk burst out of his Poke Ball and examined the other one. The injured Croagunk stirred, looked up and saw Brock's Croagunk. Brock's Croagunk helped it to its feet.

"Blimey this Croagunk took quite a beating," Harry muttered.

Brock took out some medical supplies and started to work on healing Croagunk's injuries. Once he was finished, Croagunk was looking much better and smiled gratefully.

"What happened?" asked Brock.

"You know Pokemon language doesn't translate well into human language," Harry pointed out, "You wouldn't understand him anyway."

"You understand Riolu," Dawn said.

"Not exactly," Harry admitted, "I can just make guesses of what he's trying to say. He can't tell me a story and neither can Croagunk."

"Makes me wish Team Rocket's Meowth was here," muttered Ash. Brock grimaced in recognision but Harry and Dawn looked at Ash curiously.

"Who's Team Rocket?" Harry asked.

"Three idiots who kept trying to catch Pikachu before I came to Sinnoh," Ash said, "They tried for more than three years, then finally learned their lesson and gave up when I went back to Kanto to challenge the Battle Frontier."

"And they had a talking Meowth?" said Dawn.

"Yeah," Ash said, "He was one of the three idiots."

"Croagunk," said the Croagunk they had rescued and waved at them gratefully before walking away. Riolu sensed determination emanating from him. And there was also fear, not for himself but for someone else. Croagunk was emanating the kind of feelings that implied he was on a rescue mission.

"Riolu, Rio!" Riolu said, pointing to Croagunk. Brock's Croagunk nodded and walked after the other one.

"Pika, Pika," Pikachu said and hopped off Ash's shoulder. Piplup jumped out of Dawn's arms. The four humans still didn't understand what was happening but followed the Pokemon nonetheless. Harry really wished Pokemon language was easier for humans to understand because a Pokemon translator would be really useful right now. Ash was thinking almost nostalgically of Team Rocket's Meowth as they followed the Pokemon.

* * *

Eventually the group arrived at an old and seemingly abandoned factory. The leading Croagunk led them to the large metal doors and pointed to them before turning back to the others gesturing wildly.

"Whatever or whoever Croagunk's looking for must be in there," Harry muttered.

"Hold on!" Brock said suddenly, "This is Looker's Croagunk."

"Really?" asked Dawn.

"Yes, I'm sure of it," Brock confirmed, "He must have been separated from Looker who must be in there."

"The question is how did they get separated?" Ash said.

"Pika!" Pikachu said suddenly and pointed to a Golbat flying above them. The Golbat saw them and let out a deafening Screech attack. A small army of Golbat flew over the wall.

"Of course!" Harry said. There was only one reason there would be so many Golbat outside their natural habitat, "Team Galactic!"

"Pikachu Thunderbolt!"

"Piplup Bubblebeam!"

"Riolu Hidden Power!"

All three Pokemon launched their attacks and knocked Golbat out of the sky.

"Good to see you haven't grown rusty at using Hidden Power, Riolu," Harry commented. Riolu nodded. It had been months since he'd last used the move and Pokemon could easily forget their older attacks if they neglected them for too long, "Alright now let's break down that door. Aura Sphere!"

"Bubblebeam!"

"Mud Bomb!"

"Volt Tackle then Iron Tail!"

Looker's Croagunk added its own Mud Bomb along with Brock's Croagunk and the barrage of attacks weakened the massive iron doors before Pikachu's Volt Tackle and Iron Tail combination smashed them open. Inside was a familiar purple haired woman with a Skuntank, along with a few grunts.

"Ugh it just had to be you four!" Jupiter groaned.

"Can't say we're pleased to see you either," Harry said, "Where's Looker?"

"You'll have to find him yourself," Jupiter said coldly, "We're finished here anyway. Skuntank use Smokescreen!"

"Riolu find it and use Aura Sphere!" Harry ordered as Skuntank belched out a thick Smokescreen. Riolu found Skuntank's Aura and blasted it with an Aura Sphere, causing it to screech in pain.

"Flamethrower!" came Jupiter's voice from within the Smokescreen and a stream of flames shot out and hit Riolu causing him to scream in pain, "Come on Skuntank, we're going!" The smoke started to clear. For the first time the group noticed that there was a helicopter inside the wall but outside the factory itself. Jupiter and her grunts were climbing into it.

"Pikachu Thunder!" ordered Ash and Pikachu fired a Thunder towards the helicopter as it started to rise into the air.

"Hyper Beam!" ordered Jupiter and Skuntank fired a yellow beam which collided with Thunder and created an explosion. By the time the smoke cleared the helicopter was above the factory and flying away.

"We could send our airborne Pokemon after it," Harry suggested.

"Forget about that," Ash asserted, "We need to find Looker." The group then noticed that the two Croagunk were gone.

"Riolu, can you sense them?" Harry asked. Riolu scanned around and then led them into the factory and after the Croagunk.

"Croagunk!" cried Looker's voice from a cell. The group heard Croagunk's relieved and overjoyed reply and caught up with the two Toxic Mouth Pokémon. Brock's Croagunk had the barest hint of a smile on his face as he watched Looker's Croagunk get reunited with his master. The two Croagunk looked at each other before simultaneously blasting the door with Mud Bomb, blowing it open. As soon as he was free, Looker hugged his Croagunk, then looked up at his rescuers. "Hey there. Fancy running into you lot again. Thanks for the rescue."

"No problem," Harry said, "We were lucky we found your Croagunk though or we would never have known you were here." Looker nodded.

"Croagunk got blasted away by Skuntank's Hyper Beam when I was captured," he said, "It really was a stroke of good fortune that you were able to find him." He stood up straight and took out a Poke Ball before recalling Croagunk. Brock did the same to his own Croagunk.

"We should leave," Dawn said.

"Not yet," Looker said, "I need to know what Team Galactic were working on first."

Looker led them through the factory until they found a machine which was obviously more modern than the rest of the rusty machinery in the factory. Inside the machine was a red shard. The group examined it curiously.

"Any idea what this is?" Brock asked Looker.

"Well I heard that Team Galactic were working on some kind of chain," Looker said thoughtfully, "This looks like it could be a link in the chain."

"What do they need a chain for?" asked Ash.

"I think they'll need it to restrain Dialga and Palkia," Looker said, "We'd better take this back to town and see if a scan will provide us with any more information."

* * *

When they got back to town, the group immediately went to visit Officer Jenny who took them to a scientist with a scanning machine. Looker put the mysterious shard into the machine.

"With this machine we'll be able to transmit any data from this shard directly to headquarters," Jenny explained as the scientist began the scan. The shard appeared on a screen from three different angles, spinning slowly as the scan continued.

Suddenly the G sign that stood for Galactic popped up on the screen, followed by a picture of Charon's face who was sticking out his tongue mockingly.

"Stop the scan!" yelled Looker but too late. The shard in the machine glowed white and a blast of energy shot through the room. Charon's face disappeared and was replaced by static on the screen. Sparks of electricity came from every machine in the room. The mysterious shard seemed to have disintegrated completely.

"It self-destructed," the scientist said and thumped the machine in frustration. There was a beeping sound and Officer Jenny turned to another screen, which allowed her to contact other Police Stations. She barely had time to greet the man who appeared on the screen before he started talking frantically.

"Officer Jenny the data you tried to transmit has wiped out our entire database!" he said. Looker rushed to Jenny's side.

"What about Team Galactic's data?" he asked.

"Apparently it's been destroyed too," said the man helplessly.

"It was a trap," snarled Looker, "A warning to tell the International Police to stay out of Team Galactic's way!" He clenched his fists, "Well I'm not going to give up. I'll do whatever it takes to stop Team Galactic!"

"You know Mr Looker," Harry said, "I still have the Griseous Orb." Everyone looked at him as he took it out of his backpack, "We still have at least one advantage over Team Galactic."

"But we don't even know how to use it!" Brock pointed out.

"We need to find Spear Pillar," Looker said, "Team Galactic needs to get there to summon Dialga and Palkia. By that logic, taking the Griseous Orb there should allow us to summon Giratina too."

"That could be really dangerous," Officer Jenny cautioned.

"Everything's dangerous when Team Galactic's involved!" Looker snapped, seeming uncharacteristically agitated, "Those maniacs are trying to destroy the world! They actually told me so! Potential control over Giratina is the one advantage we have!"

"Not necessarily," Ash said, "There's also the Lake Guardians. Dawn, Brock and I each saw one of them so it must mean something. Maybe they can help."

"Well which Lake is nearest?" asked Harry.

"Lake Valor," said Brock checking his pokegear, "That one's the home of Azelf right?" Looker nodded.

"Then I need you four go to Lake Valor and find Azelf," he said, "Meanwhile I'll go to Mount Coronet and see if I can find Spear Pillar."

"We're on it," Ash said.

* * *

Officer Jenny drove the group to Lake Valor. On the way there, they saw a huge aircraft appear out of thin air.

"That's J's ship!" cried Brock.

"Damn," muttered Harry, "As if Team Galactic weren't bad enough."

"We need to hurry," Dawn said. Officer Jenny paused. It would be hypocritical of her to break the speed limit but right now hypocrisy wasn't something they had time for. She increased the police car's speed and they reached the lake in time to see a pulse of powerful energy blow the water apart, creating a huge whirlpool in the middle of the lake. Saturn, Mars and Jupiter were all at the edge of the lake along with half a dozen Team Galactic grunts.

Ash then noticed another person whom he had known all his life but had barely seen since coming to Sinnoh.

"Gary!" he cried.

"Who's Gary?" asked Harry as the group got out of the car.

"An old friend of mine," Ash said, "Gary it's me!" The spiky haired boy who looked Ash's age, looked up.

"Ash!" he cried, "What the heck are you doing here?"

"Trying to stop these assholes!" Ash said. Gary raised an eyebrow at his choice of words, "Sorry, I've been around Harry for too long," he jabbed a thumb at Harry.

At that moment, there was a screech of pain and an Umbreon that must belong to Gary hit the ground hard. Saturn's Toxicroak followed up its X-Scissor attack by thrusting a lethal Poison Jab towards Umbreon, fully intending to kill the unfortunate Pokemon. Gary recalled Umbreon just in time and Toxicroak's claw sank into the ground. Gary hurried over to his allies. With Umbreon out of the way, the Team Galactic Commander and their grunts could now concentrate on the new arrivals.

"You lot _again_!" said Saturn looking very annoyed, "This is getting repetitive."

"What did you do to the lake?" Harry shouted.

"Oh that?" Mars jabbed her thumb dismissively at the whirlpool in the middle of Lake Valor, "That's just the effects of the Galactic Bomb."

"You're all under arrest!" yelled Officer Jenny.

"Oh shut up!" said Jupiter, "Go Skuntank!"

"Purugly you're up!" cried Mars.

"Alakazam go!" cried Saturn and sent out the evolved form of Kadabra, who held two spoons instead of one and had no tail. Unsuprisingly Brock's Croagunk emerged upon sensing Saturn's Toxicroak as it went to Alakazam's side. Toxicroak glanced briefly at Alakazam with undisguised dislike, then focussed on Croagunk instead.

"You're Professor Rowan's grandson right?" Gary said to Harry.

"Yeah, how did you know?" asked Harry.

"I'm his new assistant, Gary Oak," the older boy replied, "I'm surprised he didn't tell you about me. Alright Electivire let's go!" A bulky Electric type with two long tails appeared. Officer Jenny sent out her Arcanine. Riolu, Electivire, Pikachu, Piplup, Arcanine and Croagunk faced off against Toxicroak, Purugly, Skuntank and Alakazam. To even the odds, Jupiter and Mars both sent out their newly evolved Bronzong.

"Look!" cried Dawn before what could be an extremely chaotic fight broke out. Everyone looked towards the lake as a small shape emerged from the mysterious hole in the middle of the water. Ash took a step forwards as the shape started to become solid. Finally a small blue Pokemon appeared.

"Azelf!" it said and looked around. The first thing it noticed was that there was a huge Salamence with a grey haired woman on its back flying straight towards it.

"Leave it alone J!" Ash yelled but if the Pokemon Hunter even heard him, she ignored him.

"Salamence use Draco Meteor!" she ordered and Salamence opened its mouth and shot an orb of energy into the air. The orb exploded and meteors burst out of it. Instead of dodging it however, Azelf focussed its Psychic attack on the meteors.

Everyone, even J and the Galactic Commanders, were astonished when Azelf used Psychic to direct every single Draco Meteor towards Salamence. Salamence roared in agony as it was hit with its own attack and blasted all the way to the lakes shore, sending J tumbling off its back.

"So that is the power of a Legendary Pokemon!" said Saturn, his normally bored voice filled with awe. Azelf had manipulated and redirected the entire Draco Meteor as though it was nothing.

"Help J!" Jupiter ordered to the Team Galactic Grunts and they sent out at least a dozen Golbat.

"Supersonic!" shouted the Grunt's and the Golbat all obeyed but Azelf created a Safeguard around its body so that the Supersonic passed over it harmlessly. It then once again displayed its incredible Psychic attack by telekinetically grabbing every single Golbat and sending them crashing into each other. Azelf actually seemed slightly amused, thinking that it could deal with its attackers without difficulty.

"You lot are in way over your heads," Harry told Team Galactic, "According to legend, Dialga and Palkia are even more powerful than Azelf." Suddenly J's Claydol appeared behind Azelf. Azelf was so busy toying with the Golbat that it didn't notice it.

"Hyper Beam!" ordered J who was still on the shore with her injured Salamence. Claydol sent two powerful beams from its cannon like arms. Azelf turned a split second too late and the Hyper Beam blasted it out of the sky. J fired her freeze ray.

"Azelf!" yelled Ash as the Legendary Pokemon, who had taken out a dozen Golbat and turned a Salamence's Draco Meteor against it effortlessly, became just like the other unfortunate statues J had created with her freeze ray. One of J's transportation platforms came out of her airship, which was still hovering above the lake and the stone statue of Azelf landed on it.

"One down, two to go," Saturn said, "In the meantime let's get rid of these fools. Alakazam Psybeam and Toxicroak use Dark Pulse!"

"Purugly Shadow Ball and Bronzong use Flash Cannon!" ordered Mars.

"Skuntank Flamethrower and Bronzong Flash Cannon!" ordered Jupiter. Mars glanced at her, slightly annoyed that she had copied the use of Flash Cannon.

"Pikachu Thunderbolt!" ordered Ash and Pikachu used Thunderbolt on Purugly's Shadow Ball.

"Electivire you too!" commanded Gary and Electivire used Thunderbolt on Alakazam's Psybeam.

"Piplup Bubblebeam!" cried Dawn and Piplup used Bubblebeam on Skuntank's Flamethrower.

"Riolu Aura Sphere!" yelled Harry and Riolu used Aura Sphere on Jupiter's Bronzong's Flash Cannon.

"Arcanine Flamethrower!" shouted Jenny and Arcanine used Flamethrower on the Mars' Bronzong's Flash Cannon.

"Croagunk use Brick Break!" bellowed Brock and while five of the six Pokemon on the heroes' side used Special Attacks which collided with the villains Pokemon's Special Attacks, Croagunk jumped over Toxicroak's Dark Pulse and tried to strike him with Brick Break. However the explosions caused by the collision of the other attacks blocked his vision and when he emerged on the other side of the smoke, Toxicroak had disappeared.

"Show it a real Brick Break!" ordered Saturn and Croagunk looked up to see Toxicroak above him. His evolved form brought one glowing white hand straight down towards Croagunk's skull in a powerful chop, intending to smash Croagunk into the ground.

Then Toxicroak stopped in mid-air, his hand less than an inch from Croagunk's skull. The smoke from the explosions caused by the other attacks cleared. Nobody had been hurt too much but the gap between the heroes and villains as well as their Pokemon had gotten wider, as the range of five explosions at once was quite considerable.

"Mesprit!" cried a feminine sounding voice and everyone looked up. A pixie like creature that vaguely resembled Azelf but had a pink head instead of a blue one floated in the air. Mesprit was the one who was currently holding Toxicroak above Croagunk with its Psychic attack.

"Uxie!" cried another feminine sounding voice and beside Mesprit appeared another pixie like Pokemon who had a yellow head. Like both of the other Lake Guardians, it had a red gem on its forehead.

"Croak!" yelled Toxicroak as Mesprit sent it flying away from Croagunk and smashed it against a tree, knocking it out. Saturn recalled it. Croagunk looked slightly annoyed. He'd wanted to beat Toxicroak himself.

"Mesprit and Uxie!" cried Jupiter, now ignoring the heroes as she turned to look up at them. Skuntank turned too, holding up its bottom to Piplup as if about to spray him with its foul Stench.

"We've got your sibling!" shouted Saturn. Mesprit and Uxie saw Azelf who was still frozen on the platform which was now in Saturn's arms. He held up the captured Legendary. Mesprit's eyes narrowed in anger. Uxie's eyes were always closed but its mouth was turned down in a scowl.

"Drapion, Pin Missile!" cried J sending out her Drapion who fired a barrage of Pin Missiles at Mesprit and Uxie. Uxie casually turned back every missile but Drapion crossed its arms and took the attack head on. The missiles exploded around it but Drapion's tough armour enabled it to pull through, "Claydol Signal Beam!" Like it had with Azelf, Claydol used Teleport to get behind Mesprit and Uxie before firing two multi-coloured beams, one from each of its cannons. Uxie and Mesprit both used Protect before they even turned around.

"Uxie!" cried Uxie and swung its two tails just like Dawn's Ambipom did whenever she used Swift, shooting yellow stars from the tails at Claydol.

"Mesprit!" cried Mesprit and its eyes glowed green as it used Copycat to mimic Claydol's Signal Beam, although unlike Claydol it only used one beam fired from its forehead gem. Claydol was hit by the Swift and Signal Beam and sent tumbling towards the lake. It splashed into the water and floated up a moment later, unconscious and being dragged towards the whirlpool created by the Galactic Bomb.

By now Salamence had recovered and carried J above the whirlpool as Claydol was sucked into it and started spinning helplessly, unable to Teleport because it was unconscious. J aimed her Poke Balls beam carefully – no doubt her impeccable aim was honed by years of practice with her freeze ray – and recalled Claydol before it was swallowed completely by the whirlpool. She then furiously turned towards Uxie and Mesprit and fired her freeze ray. The two Lake Guardians both dodged the beams.

"Mesprit, Uxie, I'm sure you don't want your sibling to get hurt!" Saturn yelled at the pair, "It won't if you two give up now!"

"You guys really have no honour," Harry said. Mesprit hesitated but Uxie frowned and formed an orb of energy between its hands. Whilst it was forming the energy, it used its Psychic powers to see into the future and predict the exact moment when the Future Sight should strike. It shot a huge blue beam straight up into the sky and the energy disappeared into a portal. Mesprit glanced at Uxie, realizing what its fellow Lake Guardian had just done.

"Dragon Claw!" J yelled and Salamence's claws glowed blue and it slashed Uxie the claws on one front foot and Mesprit with the claws on the other. J aimed her freeze ray and turned Uxie to stone.

"Uxie!" yelled Brock.

J turned turned to Mesprit but as she did so the furious Lake Guardian focussed hard just like Uxie had a moment earlier, foreseeing the same moment in the future that Uxie had sent its own Future Sight to as it formed an orb of energy between its hands. It then shot a huge blue beam straight up into the sky and the beams disappeared into another portal which appeared in the sky. J fired her freeze ray and turned Mesprit to stone.

"Mesprit no!" screamed Dawn. J's Salamence flew the Pokemon Hunter to dry land where two Galactic Grunts met her. The platforms with Uxe and Mesprit on them floated towards them.

"That's enough!" Harry snarled taking out another Poke Ball, "Drapion get Uxie and Mesprit back!" Drapion burst out of his Poke Ball and scuttled rapidly towards J and the two Grunts.

"Drapion get rid of it!" cried J and her own Drapion lunged at Harry's Drapion, "X-Scissor!" Drapion's arms glowed white and it lunged and slashed Harry's Drapion knocking him away. Upon seeing the two Drapion fighting an extremely chaotic, seven way battle broke out. It was like being in a warzone with attacks flying in every direction. Saturn sent out Bronzor to replace Toxicroak.

Riolu sent Mars'Purugly flying with a Force Palm before being hit by an Extrasensory from one of the Bronzong. Bronzong was then hit by Piplup's Bubblebeam and Piplup was slashed with a Night Slash from Skuntank who then received a Thunder Punch from Electivire. The other Bronzong tried to hit Electivire with Shadow Ball only to have it blocked by Light Screen before the Bronzong was blasted by Arcanine's Flamethrower. Alakazam smashed Arcanine into a tree with Psychic, being the first one to actually knock out one of the heroes' Pokemon, but then received a Quick Attack from Pikachu, who was then knocked off his feet by Bronzor's Gyro Ball. Croagunk smashed Bronzor with Brick Break but then Harry's Drapion went flying into him as J's Drapion smashed into him with Giga Impact.

In the midst of the chaos, Saturn, Mars and Jupiter managed to get to the truck with Azelf.

"Pay up!" ordered J as her Drapion scuttled over to join her, having defeated Harry's less experienced Drapion without too much difficulty.

"Contact Cyrus and he'll give you your payment," Saturn said quickly.

"If he doesn't, I'll hunt down Team Galactic," J warned as she got onto her Salamence and recalled Drapion.

"I have no doubt," Saturn said and climbed into the truck. His Alakazam then Teleported all of the Pokemon over to the truck, putting one hand on Skuntank so that Teleport would also work on the Dark type.

"Stop them!" yelled Jenny and all of the Pokemon except Jenny's unconscious Arcanine aimed a Special Attack at the truck. Each of the Team Galactic members' Pokémon, except Jupiter's Bronzong countered with Special Attacks of their own, creating six explosions. By the time the smoke cleared the van was gone, "Damn it!"

"To hell with them," Harry said and pointed up at J's airship, "Look!"

A portal appeared right above the ship and a massive beam of blue energy exploded out of it and blasted J's aircraft smashing one of the sturdy machines massive engines as though it was tearing paper. The ship wobbled in the air and started to descend. Almost as soon as Uxie's Future Sight had finished, Mesprit's Future Sight sent another beam down from the sky and blasted the ship just as Uxie's had done, increasing the speed of its descent. The ship of the most feared Pokemon Hunter in Sinnoh was sucked into the whirlpool created by the Galactic Bomb. Everyone watched in awe and fear as the massive aircraft disappeared into the lake. A moment later there was a massive explosion and the whirlpool was finally destroyed.

Riolu winced as he felt dozens of terrified Aura's disappear as the ship filled with water before exploding. He couldn't tell if J was one of them.

"Do you think she's dead?" asked Dawn looking rather scared.

"Unless Claydol regained consciousness, there's no way she could have survived that," Brock said.

"Even if Claydol Teleported her out in time, she's nothing without that ship," Jenny said confidently, "Right now we need to focus on Team Galactic."

At that moment a car appeared from the trees, driving as fast as possible without exceeding the speed limit. A familiar blonde haired woman climbed out of the vehicle.

"What have I missed?" asked Cynthia.

 **GarionRiva practically begged me not to do the Grand Festival but I've already written it and I want to include it because otherwise I would have written it for nothing. Also there are a few surprises in my version of the Grand Festival. That's why I set up a new poll. If I show the Grand Festival, it will happen very soon so I need votes about whether I should have bothered writing it in the first place.**


	59. Galactic Battles Part 2

**I think I should warn you that there are a couple of unpleasant deaths in this chapter.**

Cynthia drove Ash, Dawn, Harry and Brock towards Mount Coronet, where Looker was conducting his investigation. While they were travelling Ash, Dawn and Brock suddenly clutched their heads as intense pain shot through their skulls.

"Guys what's wrong?" Harry asked. Riolu felt the three trainer's pain through Aura and grimaced.

"The Lake Guardians!" groaned Brock, "It's like they're… calling to us!" Harry might have been jealous of the fact that his three friends were bonded to Legendary Pokemon if not for the intense pain they were clearly in right now.

Then Ash, Dawn, Brock, Pikachu and Piplup all Teleported out of the car. Cynthia skidded the car to a stop out of sheer astonishment. She, Harry and Riolu looked around. Riolu scanned the area with Aura but there was no trace of the trio.

"What the…?" Harry asked.

"The Lake Guardians must have summoned them," Cynthia said.

"But how could they do that all the way from Mount Coronet?" asked Harry. Cynthia raised an eyebrow at him, "Oh right, Legendary." Cynthia continued driving. Harry took the Griseous Orb out of his backpack and looked at it. As soon as Cynthia saw it, her eyes widened.

"Where did you get that?" she asked sharply.

"In a ruins in Mount Coronet," Harry said, "I thought we could use it to surprise Team Galactic."

"Do you have any idea how dangerous summoning Giratina could be?" cried Cynthia.

"It can't be anymore dangerous than Team Galactic summoning Dialga and Palkia," Harry reasoned.

"Do you think you can control Giratina just by having that orb?" Cynthia asked. Harry paused, "You foolish boy! Team Galactic have been planning the capture of Dialga and Palkia for years! You can't just take the Griseous Orb and assume that'll give you authority over Giratina!"

"But Giratina's the only advantage we have," Harry protested.

* * *

Ash, Brock and Dawn all found themselves in Team Galactic's headquarters. All four of the Team Galactic commanders were present as well as a familiar man whom Harry's Riolu had attacked in Celestic Town.

"Well well," said Charon looking amused, "Looks like we have company."

"Where are we?" Ash asked looking around then the trio saw three large jars each containing one of the Lake Guardians. Some kind of crystal had been placed in the gems on their foreheads, "Azelf!"

"Mesprit!" cried Dawn.

"Uxie!" gasped Brock.

"How did you brats get here?" yelled Jupiter.

"Isn't it obvious?" said Saturn calmly, "The Lake Guardians summoned them."

"But we're supposed to be the Chosen Ones!" Jupiter cried, looking outraged.

"You think you can just imprison Pokemon and force them to make you Chosen Ones?" Brock scoffed.

"You lot really are a bunch of arrogant morons!" Dawn said and Piplup nodded in agreement. Ash was looking at the man standing on a balcony overhead. This man was the only person who had shown absolutely no sign of emotion when they appeared.

"Cyrus," Ash said, "So this is why Riolu attacked you in Celestic Town. He sensed you were up to no good!"

"You're a member of Team Galactic?" gasped Dawn.

"I'm not a mere member," Cyrus said emotionlessly, "I'm the leader of Team Galactic."

"You lied to all of us," Brock said, "We should have known Riolu wouldn't attack you for no reason!"

"By the way where is the fourth brat?" Mars asked.

"Aw he got left behind," sneered Jupiter.

"He's on his way," Ash said and smirked, "And so is Cynthia." Jupiter, Mars and Charon all flinched when they heard the Champion's name. A brief look of worry passed over Saturn's face. Cyrus didn't react at all.

"That woman may be the Champion of the Sinnoh Region," the leader of Team Galactic said calmly, "But once we summon Dialga and Palkia, not even she will be able to stop us."

"And we won't let you stop us when we're so close," said Jupiter, "Go Skuntank!" The Skunk Pokemon appeared.

"Purugly, we need your help too!" cried Mars sending out the Tiger Cat Pokemon.

"Toxicroak, time to have some fun," said Saturn and the Toxic Mouth Pokemon appeared between Purugly and Skuntank. Brock's Croagunk emerged at exactly the same time with a dark scowl. Toxicroak held up one of its claws threateningly.

"Don't," Cyrus said and everybody paused. Cyrus walked to a flight of steps and descended calmly, "Violence is the most frightful byproduct of the human heart. Haven't I told you that time and time again?"

"But Cyrus," protested Jupiter, "These three were brought here to stop us by the Lake Guardians so isn't it only natural to eliminate them?" Cyrus stared at her blankly. The emotionless look on his face was far more unsettling than rage. Jupiter swallowed.

"Behold," Cyrus said gesturing to the imprisoned Lake Guardians, "This is the kind of accomplishment humans are capable of achieving. But when ones heart is ruled by emotion they will fight in which case humanity will never advance. I created Team Galactic so that we could replace this chaotic universe of conflict with a new world filled with peace. I shall become the god of this new world and violence will be eliminated for good."

"This isn't about eliminating violence," said Brock, "You just want to rule over the universe."

"Stupid boy," Cyrus said coldly, "I am the only person who can see what a mess the Universe is. It won't fix itself so humans must heal it."

"By destroying it?" Ash said, "You'll kill an entire Universe just because it's not perfect? You're insane!"

"Don't you dare speak to Cyrus that way!" yelled Jupiter.

"Calm yourself," Cyrus told her coldly, "Evidently these children are too blind to understand what I hope to achieve. Nonetheless they must be important if the Lake Trio saw fit to bring them here. We'll need to keep them around just in case."

"Does that mean we have permission to attack them?" asked Mars, "They won't go down without a fight." Cyrus paused. A very brief look of disgust passed over his normally emotionless face. Finally he nodded and turned away, ascending the steps so that he wouldn't have to watch the battle that was about to take place.

"Pikachu free Azelf with Thunderbolt!" ordered Ash and Pikachu fired Thunderbolt towards the giant jar holding Azelf.

"Skuntank Flamethrower!" ordered Jupiter and Skuntank fired a stream of flames which collided with Thunderbolt and created an explosion.

"Piplup Bubblebeam!" ordered Dawn and Piplup aimed Bubblebeam at Mesprit's jar.

"Fury Swipes!" ordered Mars and Purugly jumped forwards and her claws extended before she used Fury Swipes to burst every single bubble as she closed in on Piplup, "Now Iron Tail!" Purugly somersaulted and smashed an Iron Tail into Piplup sending him sprawling.

"Croagunk use Mud Bomb!" ordered Brock and Croagunk fired Mud Bomb towards Toxicroak. The larger Pokemon was blasted backwards by the attack. Saturn raised an eyebrow.

"So Croagunk has gotten stronger after all," he said, "Alright Toxicroak use Dark Pulse!" Toxicroak fired black rings towards Croagunk.

"Dodge it and use Poison Jab!" Brock cried and Croagunk rolled to the side and then charged at Toxicroak.

"Poison Jab too!" ordered Saturn and Toxicroak lunged towards its pre-evolved form.

"Pikachu Volt Tackle!" ordered Ash and Pikachu surrounded himself with electricity and smashed into Skuntank sending her flying into the glass case containing Azelf. Skuntank smashed the glass and was drenched with the fluid that Azelf had been floating in.

"Piplup Drill Peck!" ordered Dawn and Piplup's beak grew longer and he spun and slammed into Purugly knocking her into Mesprit's case. Purugly screeched in outrage as the liquid soaked her fur.

Meanwhile Croagunk ducked between Toxicroak's Poison Jab and thrust one of his own into his evolved form's stomach. Toxicroak hunched over for a moment but then croaked loudly and smashed a Brick Break into Croagunk's face sending him sprawling. Toxicroak leered wickedly and thrust forwards with his claws. Croagunk rolled to the side just in time to avoid being gutted by the murderous creature.

"Rotom Discharge!" called Charon and everyone except Cyrus was surprised when Rotom used Discharge on Ash, Dawn and Brock. The trio collapsed grimacing in pain. Their Pokemon glanced back at them in concern.

"Dark Pulse!" ordered Saturn and Toxicroak blasted Croagunk with Dark Pulse while he was distracted.

"Shock Wave!" ordered Mars and Purugly electrocuted Piplup, smirking as she got revenge on the smaller Pokemon for ruining her fur.

"Hyper Beam!" ordered Jupiter and Skuntank fired a yellow beam. Pikachu reacted more quickly than Croagunk and Piplup, managing to shoot a Thunder towards the Hyper Beam. However the attack was too close by the time Pikachu retaliated, so the resulting explosion blasted him off his feet.

"This fighting is pointless," said Cyrus coldly from the balcony above, "I have control of the Lake Trio…" he opened his gloved hand and showed them a gem embedded in the palm, identical to the ones on the Lake Guardian's foreheads, "and Charon has completed the red chain. These gems contain the powers of the Original One so not even Legendary Pokemon can resist them." He waved his hand at the jar which still contained Uxie. The tiny Pokemon used Psychic to smash the jar and then joined Mesprit and Azelf. The trio floated over to Cyrus.

"Guys you summoned us," Ash said, "Which means you must know that what Team Galactic's doing is wrong." The three Lake Guardians stared back at him as emotionlessly as Cyrus. Their eyes were an eerie red colour.

"Make sure those children don't interfere," Cyrus said and a pair of double doors opened behind him. He turned and left and the Lake Trio followed.

* * *

Looker dragged away the last of the Team Galactic grunts guarding Spear Pillar, which didn't actually look like a pillar at all. It looked more like a huge Orb and had no obvious entrance. He hurriedly disguised himself as one of the grunts. Beside him, his Croagunk nodded approvingly.

Looker looked up as a helicopter descended. The four Galactic Commanders, three grunts and Cyrus exited. Looker couldn't hide his shock when he saw Cyrus. Jupiter noticed his shocked expression.

"All members of Team Galactic know Cyrus is the leader," she said, "Skuntank Flamethrower!" Skuntank burst out of its Poke Ball and burned away Looker's disguise with Flamethrower whilst also causing him a lot of pain, "Look's like you're getting rusty at disguising yourself, Looker."

"Put him in with the children," Cyrus said coldly and stepped past Looker. At that moment however a yellow Focus Blast launched by Looker's Croagunk knocked him off his feet.

"Cyrus!" cried Mars as Croagunk blocked their path, croaking defiantly. Saturn smirked and sent out Toxicroak. Skuntank stepped up beside Toxicroak while Mars helped Cyrus to his feet.

"Flamethrower!" Jupiter ordered and Skuntank fired a stream of flames.

"Dark Pulse!" Saturn commanded and Toxicroak fired black rings. Croagunk didn't stand a chance against the two powerful attacks and was smashed hard into a rock. Toxicroak lunged towards Croagunk and drew back its claw.

"Croagunk no!" cried Looker as he was restrained by two Galactic Grunts. Toxicroak thrust its claw into Croagunk's throat.

Jupiter, Mars and Charon all looked away. Saturn winced. Cyrus showed no emotion at all. Toxicroak drew back its bloody claw and examined it, before looking at the Pokemon it had just murdered.

"I want all the grunts to stay here," Cyrus ordered, "Charon, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn you're all with me." His subordinates nodded obediently.

Mars was pale and tried not to look at Croagunk's corpse. She distracted herself by taking out the case containing the key to Spear Pillar, opening it and setting it on the ground. The key rose into the air and the giant orb glowed brightly. Then it split apart and revealed a large door behind it with a pattern in which the key would fit. The key fitted itself into the pattern and the door drew back, disappearing into the rock surrounding it. A flight of steps was visible inside. Cyrus was the first to step through and began to climb the steps. Charon, Saturn, Mars and Jupiter followed him. The door to Spear Pillar remained open.

Seeing that the show was over, two of the three grunts dragged Looker into the helicopter. It was difficult because he was struggling furiously, trying to get to Croagunk. The third grunt sat down.

Then Harry and Cynthia arrived in the Champion's car.

"Oi, where are my friends?" Harry yelled as he and Cynthia climbed out of the car. The grunt looked up as Cynthia sent out her Garchomp. A look of fear crossed his face as his two allies came out of the helicopter. Upon seeing Cynthia and Harry, they took out their Poke Balls and each of them sent out a Golbat, before also sending out a Dustox, Beautifly and Sneasel.

"Garchomp Dragon Claw!" Cynthia ordered and Garchomp slashed her way through Dustox, Beautifly and all three of the Golbat, knocking them all out with a single hit.

"Aura Sphere!" Harry ordered and Riolu casually blasted Sneasel with Aura Sphere before climbing into the helicopter. Harry followed him while Garchomp advanced on the terrified grunts.

After freeing Ash, Brock, Dawn and Looker, Cynthia and Harry locked the grunts inside the same cell they had imprisoned their allies in. When they left the helicopter, Looker ran to his Croagunk's body.

"Oh no," whispered Dawn and they joined Looker as he knelt by his Pokemon's corpse. Brock's Croagunk burst out of his Poke Ball.

"Crooooaaaa!" Croagunk cried mournfully as he stared at the corpse of the other Croagunk. A single tear fell down his right cheek.

"I'm so sorry," Brock said quietly. Looker closed his eyes, unable to look at the corpse anymore. Tears streaked down his cheeks.

"Just stop them," he whispered. The others nodded and headed towards the still open door of Spear Pillar.

It was dark inside but not so dark that the group needed their Pokemon to light the way. At the top of the stairs, they finally found some pillars. As well as the ones lining the passage, there were three thicker pillars and on each of them was Azelf, Uxie and Mesprit.

"Azelf, Uxie and Mesprit!" bellowed Cyrus above them, "Unleash your ancient powers and bring forth Dialga and Palkia!" The heroes reached the edge of the huge platform on which the three pillars were situated just in time to see Cyrus raise the hand on which he was wearing the glove with the gem embedded in it.

"Riolu Aura Sphere on Cyrus!" ordered Harry and Riolu obeyed without hesitation, blasting the Galactic Leader off his feet. Charon, Saturn, Mars and Jupiter all turned furiously. For once even Cyrus showed some emotion.

"No!" he growled as he picked himself up, "I won't let you stop me now! Not when I'm so close!"

"Rotom come on out!"

"Toxicroak go!"

"Purugly I need you!"

"Skuntank let's do this!"

The four Pokemon appeared. Cyrus took out a Poke Ball of his own which surprised everyone. He looked at it for a moment.

"I had hoped it wouldn't come to this," he said, "But you leave me no choice! Go Gyarados!" A huge sea serpent towered above Rotom, Toxicroak, Purugly and Skuntank.

"Garchomp use Giga Impact!" ordered Cynthia and Garchomp surrounded herself with purple and yellow energy and dived towards Cyrus' Gyarados.

"Gyarados Giga Impact as well!" ordered Cyrus and Gyarados also surrounded itself with purple and yellow energy before using its powerful tail to propel itself straight towards Garchomp. There was a massive explosion which shrouded the massive platform in smoke.

"Riolu use Quick Attack on Skuntank!" ordered Harry and Riolu, being the only one capable of seeing through the smoke thanks to Aura, shot towards Skuntank and slammed into it. Jupiter smirked.

"Poison Jab!" she ordered and Skuntank mimicked her smirk as it drew back its claws which glowed with familiar purple light.

"Counter!" ordered Harry as Skuntank thrust its claws into the same place where she had stabbed Riolu nine months ago. Riolu winced and the scar from his old injury burned but Counter kicked in and Skuntank was sent flying into its trainer. "Aura Sphere!"

"Riolu!" cried Riolu and finished Skuntank off with an Aura Sphere, also blasting Jupiter against one of the three pillars at the same time.

"Pikachu Iron Tail!" ordered Ash and Pikachu leapt into the air and smashed an Iron Tail into Rotom sending it flying into Charon's arms. As soon as Rotom made contact with its trainer, Charon received a massive electric shock and collapsed. Rotom abandoned the battle and turned to its trainer, looking genuinely worried about him.

"Purugly Shock Wave!" yelled Mars.

"Piplup Bide!" Dawn ordered and Piplup stood his ground against the super effective Shock Wave.

"Fury Swipes!" ordered Mars and Purugly slashed Piplup three times but the stubborn little Pokemon managed to endure it and unleash the stored energy from Bide, knocking out Purugly.

"Mud Bomb!" yelled Brock and Croagunk shot brown Mud Bomb at Toxicroak.

"Sludge Bomb!" ordered Saturn and Toxicroak fired a black Sludge Bomb which overpowered Mud Bomb and sent Croagunk sprawling, "Poison Jab!" Toxicroak lunged.

"Sucker Punch!" yelled Brock and Croagunk darted in close and punched Toxicroak in the stomach, knocking the breath out of it. Toxicroak swung clumsily but Croagunk was already moving, dodging his evolved forms deadly claws, "Now Poison Jab!" Croagunk thrust a Poison Jab into Toxicroak's face and the larger Pokemon stumbled away before glaring furiously at Croagunk.

"Garchomp use Dragon Rush!" ordered Cynthia and Garchomp dived towards Gyarados.

"Dodge it then Aqua Tail!" Cyrus bellowed. All the emotion he'd been surpressing throughout his entire adult life was emerging now. Gyarados twisted its body skilfully and Garchomp shot past it before it smashed its water shrouded tail down on Garchomp's back. Garchomp skidded along the ground then picked herself up and glared at Gyarados. For a man who hated conflict, Cyrus had certainly trained his Gyarados well.

By now Mars and Jupiter were desperately trying to hold off Pikachu, Riolu and Piplup with their Bronzong. The two Bronzong tried to defend themselves with Light Screen and Reflect but Riolu shattered them with Brick Break. While the Bronzong struggled to hold off Riolu, Pikachu and Piplup, Toxicroak and Croagunk were engaged in what looked like a fight to the death. Toxicroak had the advantage in size and raw power but Croagunk was faster.

However one of Toxicroak's Poison Jabs nicked Croagunk's side. Croagunk faltered, grimacing in pain and Toxicroak and Saturn both noticed his moment of weakness.

"X-Scissor!" ordered Saturn and Toxicroak slashed both claws in an X shape sending Croagunk flying, "You know boy if your Croagunk evolved it might actually have a chance. Toxicroak finish it with Poison Jab!" Toxicroak jumped and brought its claws down intending to stab Croagunk in the throat just as it had with Looker's Croagunk.

"Mud Bomb!" ordered Brock and Croagunk unleashed a barrage of Mud Bomb's, hitting Toxicroak in mid-air. Toxicroak somersaulted backwards and landed on its feet but Croagunk was already charging towards him. There was pure hate in the smaller Pokemon's eyes, which was almost frightening.

"Sludge Bomb!" ordered Saturn and Toxicroak unleashed a barrage of Sludge Bomb's.

"Poison Jab!" ordered Brock and Croagunk fearlessly charged straight into the Sludge Bomb's before thrusting Poison Jab into each bomb. They exploded on contact with the Poison Jab but Croagunk was so determined to finally beat Toxicroak that he just kept going, "Brick Break full power!"

"Croooaaa!" Croagunk burst out of the smoke left behind from the exploding Sludge Bomb's, "Gunk!" he smashed his glowing hand onto Toxicroak's skull with all of his strength. Toxicroak collapsed to the ground.

"Toxicroak!" gasped Saturn, staring at his unconscious Pokemon in shock. Croagunk leapt onto Toxicroak's back and raised his hand, aiming for the back of Toxicroak's neck. He intended to smash his evolved form's spine with Brick Break. If it didn't die, it would at least be permanently paralyzed. This plan was so clear in Croagunk's mind that it took him a moment to realize that Brock had grabbed his arm and was holding him back.

"Don't do it, Croagunk," Brock said. Croagunk looked at him, then down at the murderous monster who was now at his mercy. He paused, then looked at the hand he had been about to smash Toxicroak's spine with. He relented and jumped off Toxicroak's back, contenting himself by simply spitting on it in contempt. He would never become like this creature.

Saturn looked surprised by Croagunk's mercy, but relieved. He was actually rather fond of his Toxicroak. He recalled it and grabbed another Poke Ball, yelling, "Alakazam come out and use Psybeam!" Alakazam emerged and crossed its spoons, ready to fire the super effective attack.

"Sucker Punch!" Brock bellowed and Croagunk shot forwards and punched Alakazam in the chest. Alakazam still managed to fire the Psybeam however and Croagunk was knocked out.

"Volt Tackle!" Ash yelled. By now one of the Bronzong had been defeated and the other was being overpowered by the combined efforts of Piplup and Riolu. Pikachu smashed into Alakazam with an electrified tackle and knocked it out.

"Dragon Claw!" ordered Cynthia and Garchomp lunged at Gyarados and slashed it as she passed. For all its power, Gyarados was still outmatched by the Champion's most powerful Pokemon and collapsed to the ground, "It's over Cyrus!"

"No," Cyrus said, suddenly back to his calm demeanour, "It is not." He held out the hand with the glove to a pair of Red Chains that must have appeared at some point during the chaos. Two shapes had appeared, each imprisoned by the Red Chain. Everyone except Cyrus had been so caught up in the battle that they hadn't noticed Dialga and Palkia were beginning to materialize.

"Damn!" Harry shouted then looked at the Lake Guardians who had seemed unaware of the battle going on around them, "Riolu Aura Sphere on the Lake Guardian's gems!" Riolu nodded and fired three Aura Sphere's in quick succession. Each sphere hit one of the Lake Guardians foreheads and smashed the piece of Red Chain that had imprisoned them. Ash, Dawn and Brock hurried forwards and Ash caught Azelf, Dawn caught Mesprit and Brock caught Uxie.

Then two deafening roars echoed around Spear Pillar.

"They're here!" cried Cynthia as Dialga and Palkia fully materialized. Dialga resembled a sauropod dinosaur while Palkia looked like theropod dinosaur. Both Pokemon roared in pain as the Red Chain tightened around their bodies.

" _It hurts!_ " cried both Pokemon telepathically, shocking everyone in the cavern. Even Cyrus' eyes widened upon hearing the two Pokemon talking.

"Telepathy," Cynthia said softly then raised her voice, "Cyrus you heard that! Pokemon are sentient creatures and Dialga and Palkia's telepathy proves it! You can't treat them like this!"

"So these are the Pokemon of Legend," Cyrus said, ignoring Cynthia completely, "I have waited so long for this moment!" Jupiter and Charon both stirred.

"What happened?" asked Charon then saw his Rotom beside him, "We succeeded?" He and Rotom looked up. So did Jupiter and Skuntank, whom had not been recalled because it had knocked Jupiter unconscious when it collided with her.

"Dialga, Palkia!" bellowed Cyrus, "Unleash your powers and create a new world before me!"

" _Make it stop!"_ Dialga and Palkia both wailed telepathically. Then they obeyed Cyrus' command and green light shot out of their mouths and formed into a huge portal. The portal was completely dark.

"Fascinating," said Charon, "Talking Pokemon. Sometimes I wish you could speak, Rotom." Rotom bobbed up and down in a nod.

"A new world order begins!" cried Jupiter, pushing Skuntank off her in her eagerness. She jumped onto her feet, "Cyrus let's go!" Cyrus looked at his four Commanders.

"Your violent presence will poison my new world," he said, "I have no further need of you." He stepped towards the portal.

"Cyrus!" bellowed Harry, "Stop!" He took out the Griseous Orb. Everyone looked at the orb which glowed brightly. Cyrus looked at the orb curiously for a moment, then turned to the portal.

Two gleaming red eyes opened in the portal. Cyrus faltered.

" _Who dares…?_ " another telepathic voice sounded throughout the cavern. For the first time Cyrus had a look of fear on his face. This wasn't part of the plan.

Then a huge head emerged from the portal with its jaws wide open. Cyrus screamed. For the first time in his entire adult life, he remembered what it felt like to be terrified. It was the last thing he would ever feel.

The creature standing between the imprisoned Dialga and Palkia was a massive dragon like creature with six legs and tattered black wings. All that was left of Cyrus was the gem he had used to control the Lake Trio.

"Giratina!" gasped Cynthia. Everyone took a step back. Giratina looked at Dialga and Palkia. Then it fired a Draco Meteor into the air. The meteors smashed the Red Chain easily and Dialga and Palkia fell to the ground. Giratina looked down at them for a moment, then advanced on the humans. It saw the Griseous Orb. Its eyes narrowed in rage.

Then it simply disappeared.

Everyone stared at the place where Giratina had just been. Nobody except the Lake Guardians and Riolu noticed it reappear behind them, engulfed in black energy. The Lake Trio darted between Giratina and the humans and quickly set up Protect but Giratina's Shadow Force enabled it to pass through Protect as though it wasn't there, sending all three Lake Guardians flying.

"Look out!" yelled Brock and the humans and Pokemon scattered as Giratina passed between them. It landed on the ground and turned furiously before stomping on the ground with all six feet. The ground split apart under its feet, destroying the triangle that had been carved into Spear Pillar centuries ago, and multiple cracks spread before yellow light erupted out of the ground. Everyone was thrown off their feet by the Earth Power attack. Dialga and Palkia both picked themselves up. Giratina looked at them.

" _Which of them did this?_ " Giratina rumbled.

" _Team Galactic,_ " Palkia said and pointed to the Team Galactic commanders. Giratina nodded once then spread its wings and swept towards them. The commanders screamed and scattered. Charon's Rotom desperately shocked Giratina with Discharge but seemed to do nothing more than irritate it. A single Shadow Ball from the Legendary Pokemon's mouth knocked it out.

" _Revenge!_ " Dialga roared and fired a huge vortex of black energy from its mouth towards Saturn and Charon. Mesprit darted forwards and formed a Protect to block Roar of Time. The two Galactic Commanders stared at their savior in astonishment.

"Why did you do that?" asked Saturn, bewildered.

"Compassion," Cynthia said, "Something you lack." Then she noticed Palkia creating a blade of pink energy with its right arm. The Spacial Rend cut through the air and headed towards Jupiter and Mars, "Garchomp Flamethrower!"

"Riolu Aura Sphere!"

"Pikachu Thunderbolt!"

"Piplup Bubblebeam!"

"Croagunk Mud Bomb!"

It took the combined effort of all five attacks to stop Special Rend but it worked. Mars and Jupiter looked at the trainers who had ordered their Pokemon to defend them in amazement. Then everyone noticed Giratina had disappeared again. It reappeared and dived towards the heroes, surrounded once again by black energy.

The three Lake Guardian's all used Psychic at the same time. Giratina's Shadow Force was so powerful it could penetrate Protect as though it wasn't there, but it couldn't overpower the Psychic powers of the Lake Guardians. Giratina roared furiously before being thrown to the ground.

"We need to stop them!" cried Dawn as Dialga and Palkia roared and prepared to attack again. Mesprit joined her. Azelf and Uxie went over to Ash and Brock respectively.

"You three are bonded with the Lake Guardians," Cynthia said, "Use that bond to calm them down!" The trio nodded. Harry couldn't help feeling jealous as he watched his friends close their eyes and telepathically connect with the Lake Trio. Mesprit, Uxie and Azelf all glowed brightly and flew to Dialga and Palkia. The rulers of time and space roared but less aggressively than before. They slowly approached the portal from which Giratina had emerged.

" _Very well,_ " said Dialga.

" _We will go,_ " added Palkia. The two Legendary Dragons disappeared into the portal. The Lake Guardians turned to Giratina but then were sent flying by another Shadow Force.

"Azelf!" cried Ash catching Azelf who had been knocked unconscious by the attack.

"Uxie!" yelled Brock catching Uxie who had also been knocked out.

"Mesprit!" screamed Dawn catching Mesprit who was also defeated. Giratina roared.

"Harry," said Cynthia, "Give it the Griseous Orb! That's why it's here!" Harry gulped as he looked up at the terrifying creature. Giratina flapped its mighty wings and the most powerful Ominous Wind any of them had ever experienced spread over Spear Pillar. Everyone had to press themselves against the pillars or hold onto them to stop them from being blown away. Harry clutched Riolu and the Griseous Orb.

"Stop!" he shouted, "Giratina please!"

" _You!_ " Giratina roared, " _You stole it!_ " It stopped Ominous Wind and formed Shadow Ball instead.

"Bronzor Light Screen!" cried Harry desperately and let out Bronzor. The Shadow Ball was so powerful that Bronzor took a lot of damage even within its Light Screen but it had managed to protect its master and Riolu. Harry struggled to his feet, "Giratina, I thought the Griseous Orb would persuade you to help us!"

" _I do not help humans!_ " boomed Giratina furiously.

"Take it!" Harry cried holding out the Griseous Orb, "I should never have taken it in the first place. People tried to warn me but I was a stupid, arrogant kid. I didn't mean any harm; I just wanted to stop Team Galactic. I'm sorry!"

Giratina glared at Harry. Then it fired another Shadow Ball. The Light Screen formed but the attack still blasted Bronzor against a pillar and knocked it out.

"Bronzor!" cried Harry and recalled it. When he turned back to Giratina, the huge Pokemon opened its mouth and lunged. Harry stumbled back against a pillar in terror as he remembered Cyrus' fate.

"Harry!" screamed Ash, Dawn, Brock and Cynthia all at once. Riolu leapt towards Harry and fired a desperate Hidden Power at Giratina. Surprisingly the Legendary Pokémon paused, even though it barely seemed to feel the Hidden Power. Riolu felt a change in Giratina's Aura. One moment there was murderous rage and the next there was admiration. Then the Legendary Dragon continued its descent with its mouth wide open. Riolu stared at it defiantly the whole time.

Giratina passed right through Riolu's body which made Riolu feel like he was being frozen and burned at the same time, which was an odd and extremely unpleasant sensation. Giratina plucked the Griseous Orb from Harry's lap. Harry looked into Giratina's red eyes, which bore into his soul. The Legendary Pokemon drew back with the Griseous Orb in its mouth. Riolu stumbled into his trainer's arms.

"Riolu are you okay?" Harry said. Physically Riolu seemed fine but he'd just had a god pass right through him which made him sweat and shiver at the same time. However he nodded up at his trainer. At least Giratina hadn't actually attacked him.

" _Never meddle with one as powerful as me again,_ " Giratina warned Harry then looked at Riolu, " _You have admirable loyalty little one._ " With that Giratina tossed back its head and swallowed the Griseous Orb. Then it transformed into a more serpentine form with spikes sticking out of it and flew into the portal which closed behind it.

"Cynthia!" Harry called, "Riolu's freezing and burning! What did Giratina do to him?" Cynthia hurried over along with Harry's friends and their Pokémon. Cynthia felt Riolu's forehead.

"I don't think it did anything," she said hesitantly, "I think that's just the effect Giratina has when one makes contact with it. Thank Arceus it wasn't using Shadow Force."

"Will Riolu be okay?" Harry asked.

"I think so," Cynthia said but sounded somewhat uncertain. Giratina was almost never seen in their world, so nobody knew what effect its body could have on a Pokémon that went through it.

"I know," Brock said, "Happiny come on out." His baby Pokémon appeared and toddled towards Riolu looking concerned, "Use Refresh."

"Happy!" cried Happiny and its body glowed green and waves of energy washed over Riolu who smiled and relaxed as the Refresh healed him. Harry picked him up. Satisfied that Riolu would recover, the group left Spear Pillar.

* * *

The group met Looker outside and Saturn, Mars, Jupiter and Charon gave themselves up to him without a fight. Looker punched Saturn very hard and shattered his nose before putting him in handcuffs. Once Looker had contacted the police, Gary arrived with Professor Rowan.

"Grandpa!" Harry called and ran over to his grandfather, still carrying Riolu. Rowan looked at Riolu, who was now sleeping. Riolu had never seemed as childlike as he did now. It was actually rather cute, albeit a bit out of character for the Emanation Pokémon.

"I'm glad you're alright," Rowan said, "What happened to Riolu?"

"Cynthia said he'll be okay," Harry said, "But I imagine it's not nice to have the god of all Ghost Pokémon pass right through you."

"So you saw Giratina?" Rowan asked and Harry nodded, "Have you still got the Griseous Orb? Looker informed me about that."

"I suppose you're going to scold me about taking it," Harry mumbled, "Look I already know it was stupid. I should have left it alone. But it doesn't matter now because Giratina ate it."

"Ate it?" Rowan said sceptically.

"Yeah," Harry said then changed the subject, "By the way you never told me you had a new assistant." He gestured to Gary who had collected the Lustrous and Adamant Orbs as well as the Spear Pillar Key and put them all in a black case. The case could also have fitted the Griseous Orb.

"Well maybe if you contacted me for reasons besides switching your Pokemon, I would have," Rowan replied.

"Oh," Harry said awkwardly, "Sorry. But you know I don't do small talk." Professor Rowan nodded then looked up at the three Lake Guardians who hovered above them.

"So," he said, "These are the Lake Guardians. Mesprit, Uxie and Azelf." He bowed his head to the three Legendary Pokemon.

"Why's it always you who befriends Legendary Pokemon, Ashy-boy?" asked Gary.

"I thought you'd stopped calling me that," Ash said. Gary smirked.

"Nope," he said, "That nickname never gets old. Anyway congratulations on saving the world again."

"Well I had a lot of help," Ash said looking around at his friends. Azelf floated around him happily. Mesprit and Uxie approached Dawn and Brock.

"So you three are leaving I suppose," Dawn said sadly. Mesprit nodded but then gave her a hug, "I'll come and visit you at Lake Verity someday, Mesprit. I'll miss you."

"Mesprit," Mesprit nodded and floated backwards.

"Uxie, I'm honoured that you chose to bond with me," Brock said, "Take care."

"Uxie," Uxie nodded and floated backwards too.

"I'll miss you Azelf," Ash said sadly, "Thanks for everything." Azelf floated towards Uxie and Mesprit then hesitated and looked back at Ash. It seemed to be trying to make up its mind about something, "I hope we see each other again someday."

"Azelf," Azelf said and waved. Mesprit and Uxie did so too, then the Lake Guardians Teleported away.

"Why did you three get to bond with the Legendary Pokémon?" Harry asked with no small amount of jealousy.

"Who needs to bond with Legendary Pokémon when you've got friends as loyal as Riolu?" Cynthia asked gesturing to Riolu whom Harry was still carrying. That rhetorical question instantly made Harry feel better. He looked down fondly at his Starter Pokémon.


	60. The Grand Festival Part 1

It took the group a week to reach the Grand Festival. During that time, Dawn's Togekiss got to know the other Pokemon and Harry's Gabite kept working on Draco Meteor. Gabite could now summon fifteen meteors but Bronzor still had to use Light Screen to stop them from landing on Harry. After they arrived and Dawn had registered, they went to meet the other coordinators. The first familiar face they saw was Nando who was giving an interview.

"Hey Nando!" called Ash once the interview was over, "Long time no see."

"Greetings my friends," Nando said smiling at them. He looked at Harry trying to remember him.

"We met briefly in Hearthome City," Harry reminded him.

"Ah yes of course," Nando said, remembering, "I also saw you in the Wallace Cup. I was most regretful that I missed that event."

"Hey well you can make up for it with this event," Dawn said enthusiastically, "Just don't expect me to go easy on you if we battle."

"I would not want you too," Nando said, "It would give me great joy to be able to battle with you again after such a long time."

"Oh yeah," Ash said in surprise, "That's weird; in all the time we've known you, Dawn's only battled you once."

"I look forward to seeing how you have improved, Dawn," Nando said, "No please excuse me." He walked away, playing a tune on his Mew shaped harp. Someone then tapped Dawn's shoulder. It was a boy Harry had never met but the other three recognised him.

"Hey there Dee Dee," said the boy.

"Hi Kenny," Dawn said.

"Good to see you again Kenny," said Ash.

"You too Ash," Kenny said then looked at Harry curiously.

"Hello," Harry said, "I'm Harry. Dawn's mentioned you a few times."

"Nice to meet you," Kenny said and they shook hands. Kenny then smirked at Dawn "So Dee Dee are you ready to lose to me?"

"No, I'm ready to win," Dawn replied. Kenny then frowned slightly.

"Hold on how come you're not complaining about me calling you Dee Dee?" he asked.

"I grew out of it," Dawn said, "I also grew out of my fear of Plusle and Minun." At that moment a Plusle and Minun jumped onto her shoulders. She glanced at them in surprise, then noticed the evil look they were giving her, "Oh no." Plusle and Minun let out sparks and Dawn's hair stuck up on end and shone.

"I finally get to see Diamond Dandruff in person," said a voice and Ursula approached, "That's for beating Plusle and Minun last time we battled." It took Dawn a moment to realize that Ursula had referred to their double battle instead of the time she'd battled Salvia.

"Last time we battled? Hold on," Dawn said as she hurriedly straightened her hair, "Did you…?" Plusle and Minun jumped into their trainers arms while Ursula smirked.

"Figure out that you and Princess Salvia switched identities?" Ursula said smugly. Everyone looked at her in surprise, "Yeah I did. I'm not stupid, Dee Dee."

"No you're not," Dawn agreed then smiled, "Well Princess Salvia gave me her Togekiss," she took out Togekiss' Poke Ball and the Jubilee Pokemon emerged and hovered above her new trainer's head.

"I hope you've been training it hard," Ursula said, "I'm counting on you to make me and my Pokemon look good." She flounced away.

"Still as arrogant as ever," Harry muttered.

"Yeah you'd think she'd learn some humility since Salvia beat her," Brock said.

"Hold on," Kenny said, "I watched that contest on TV. If Ursula lost, why is she here?"

"Because Salvia's very kind and gave her the ribbon," Ash said.

"So technically she shouldn't be here," Kenny said. The others shrugged.

"Well she is here, so I'll just beat her a third time and leave it at that," Dawn said. Piplup nodded.

"Hey Dawn!" called another familiar voice. Dawn brightened eagerly as she turned to Zoey.

"Zoey!" she cried, "I was wondering where you were. How have you been?"

"I've been great," Zoey said then waved to the others, "Hey guys!"

"Good to see you again Zoey," Brock said as they approached.

"Hey Zoey remember me?" asked Kenny. Zoey thought for a moment then snapped her fingers.

"Your Kenny right?" she said.

"Yeah, you beat me in my very first contest," Kenny replied, "But that's not gonna happen this time."

* * *

"Alright Ladies and Gentlemen the Grand Festival is finally here!" cried Marian to the crowd the next day, "All of Sinnoh's finest coordinators are gathered with the intent to win the prestigious title of Top Coordinator. Throughout this competition each coordinator will be required to give a double performance. First I would like to introduce our Judges. First of all our Head Judge Mr Contesta!"

"Good day to you all," said Mr Contesta, "I am pleased to be here to witness this wonderful event."

"The head of the Pokemon Fan Club Mr Sukizo!"

"Tha Grand Festival will be remarkable!" said the little man. In the stands, Harry rolled his eyes. "Remarkable" was just about the most advanced word Sukizo could use. It was very repetitive.

"And we also have Nurse Joy!"

"I'm so happy to be here," said the Nurse while Brock swooned in the stands.

"And finally I would like to welcome our special guest judge!" cried Marian, "The Gym Leader of Hearthome City who was once also a top coordinator, Fantina!" The circle in the middle of the stage split apart and a circle underneath it rose to reveal the Hearthome Gym Leader.

"Fantina's here too?" Harry said.

"Well that's a nice surprise," Brock said with hearts in his eyes.

"Welcome one and all!" cried the eccentric Gym Leader, "I am so pleased to be here and I look forward to seeing many beautiful, powerful and elegant performances. This Grand Festival is sure to be magnifique!" People in the crowd were much more excited by Fantina's presence than the other judges and cheered loudly.

"Guess this means her gym's closed again," Ash said as Fantina finished her speech.

"Alright then!" cried Marian, "Let's get this Grand Festival underway and welcome our first coordinator, Allegra!" A red haired girl who looked about sixteen rushed onto the stage.

"Hey didn't we meet her in Aalmos Town?" Ash asked Brock.

"Oh yeah," Brock said.

"I need to hear this story at some point," Harry said, "But right now..." He gestured to the stage as Allegra sent out her Pokémon.

"Bronzong, Vespiquen lets go," cried Allegra releasing the evolved form of Bronzor, who resembled a giant bell with arms and a Vespiquen just like Harry's. "Vespiquen, Sweet Scent!" Vespiquen shot pink powder out of her abdomen which wafted around the stage. While the audience was distracted by the Sweet Scent, Bronzong levitated above its trainer and lowered itself onto her head as though it was a giant, steel, bell shaped hat that covered her entire head. "Gyro Ball!"

"Zong!" boomed Bronzong creating two light blue balls on the ends of each arm, before spinning on Allegra's head, staying in the exact same spot as it did so. Everyone was impressed by Allegra's guts and Bronzong's control over its spin because if the Bronze Bell Pokemon moved even slightly to the side, Allegra would be getting skin scraped away from her head by the speed of the spin.

"Captivate!" Allegra yelled, her voice echoing inside Bronzong while it was still spinning. Vespiquen surrounded herself, Bronzong and Allegra with pink hearts which then spun around all three of them, "Safeguard!" Bronzong stopped spinning and a green barrier surrounded all three performers while the hearts continued spinning before colliding with each other in a shower of pink sparkles which reflected off the Safeguard. Bronzong then lifted itself off Allegra's head, revealing that her face was completely undamaged. Bronzong lowered itself onto Allegra's right side and Vespiquen hovered on her left. The trio bowed and the crowd went crazy.

Several performances later, it was Ursula's turn.

"Eevee let's go!" she cried and released two Eevee. Harry raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Two Eevee?" he said, "Blimey she got lucky."

"Iron Tail!" called Ursula and both Eevee jumped through the air and their Iron Tail's collided multiple times, "Now use Hidden Power!" Both Eevee created white orbs around each other but didn't fire them right away because Ursula had a unique trick up her sleeve. Taking out a Water Stone and a Fire Stone she threw them into the air, "Now evolve!"

"Right now?" Ash said caught off guard. Both Eevee, who still had their Hidden Power's spinning around them, glowed white and their Hidden Power's turned blue and red respectively. The Eevee with the blue Hidden Power evolved into Vaporeon and the Eevee with the red Hidden Power evolved into Flareon. The crowd started cheering and Ursula smirked.

"Dazzle them you two!" she called and her newly evolved Pokemon finally fired their Hidden Powers. The orbs met in midair and burst apart in a shower of red and blue fireworks. Vaporeon and Flareon both landed gracefully and bowed their heads. The crowd went wild.

"There's no way she can fail to get into the next round with a performance like that," Harry said. Ursula may only be here because of Salvia's kindness but in no way did that make her a pushover.

"I've never seen a Pokemon evolve in the middle of a contest performance!" cried Fantina, leaping upright energetically, "What a magnifique, not to mention unique performance!"

Next it was Zoey's turn and unlike all previous coordinators, she was permitted to use a pool of water which was opened up in the floor. She threw her Poke Balls calling, "Gastrodon, Luminion curtain!" A West Sea Gastrodon accompanied by a Luminion appeared and landed in the pool, "Luminion Bounce then Aqua Ring!" Luminion launched itself out of the pool and leaped to an incredible height before surrounded itself with three rings of water which then spun around it.

"Hey that looks like the Counter Shield Fantina's Drifblim used," Harry noted, glancing at the Hearthome City Gym Leader who was watching excitedly, "Except Aqua Ring's a defensive move."

"Gastrodon Water Pulse!" cried Zoey and Gastrodon created an orb of water and fired it at the airborn Lumineon. The Water Pulse slammed into the Aqua Ring and exploded in a brilliant light. The light formed into three rings that floated over the water's surface, which Lumineon and Gastrodon jumped through. The Aqua Ring then descended into the pool and combined together before growing larger to form a single ring, "Limineon Whirlpool!" Gastrodon placed itself inside the Aqua Ring, which was now three times bigger than each ring had been individually, while Lumineon swam very quickly in circles creating a Whirlpool which lifted Gastrodon up into the air. Lumineon then swam right up into the Whirlpool before bursting out at the top, right underneath Gastrodon lifting both of them into the air. The Whirlpool sank back into the pool as Gastrodon and Lumineon descended and splashed into the pool, "Gastrodon Hidden Power! Lumineon Safeguard!"

"Luuuum!" cried Lumineon forming a Safeguard around both it and its partner.

"Gastrodon!" cried Gastrodon and formed a Hidden Power which then spun around both Water types before bursting in a shower of multicoloured sparks which reflected off the Safeguard. The crowd cheered loudly.

Next up was Nando who sent out Altaria and Kricketune and called, "Altaria Perish Song and Kricketune use Sing!" Altaria flew around the stage and sang. A trail of gold light with multicolored sparkles in it emerged from behind its body. Meanwhile Kricketune rubbed its scythes together and its body starts to glow white and golden music notes came out of its body. The crowd enjoyed the sound and watched the musical notes wafting gently around the stage while Altaria circled overhead, "Now Kricketune use Bug Buzz!"

"Tuune!" cried Kricketune and its wings glowed red as it pointed its antennae in the air. Its antennae then vibrated and red sound waves come out of them, creating a siren-like sound. The Bug Buzz spread across the stage, picking up sparkles from Perish Song and breaking the musical notes apart so that they created even more sparkles which wafted around the entire stage. Altaria then descended and landed beside Kricketune and both Pokemon bowed. The crowd cheered.

Kenny, like Zoey, chose to use two Water types, Floatzel and Empoleon and sent them out into a pool of water calling, "Aqua Jet!" Both Pokemon surrounded themselves with water and shot around the pool creating a current which resembled a Poke Ball. Both Pokemon then burst out of the exact center of the Poke Ball, "Empoleon Drill Peck and Floatzel use Bulk Up!" Floatzel inflated it floatation sac and glowed red while Empoleon's beak glowed white and it spun. Floatzel smirked when Empoleon slammed into him even as the attack knocked him onto one side of the pool. Empoleon landed on the other side, opposite Floatzel, "Alright Floatzel Whirlpool and Empoleon use Flash Cannon!" Floatzel jumped into the air, raised its arms above its head and created a Whirlpool while Empoleon fired a silver beam from its beak. The Flash Cannon slammed into the Whirlpool.

"Zeeel!" cried Floatzel as Empoleon put too much power into the attack. The Whirlpool shielded Floatzel from being hit directly but it still created an explosion that knocked him backwards. Hastily Floatzel back flipped and landed on its feet but stumbled just a little, showing that the explosion had not been part of the plan. Empoleon looked angry with itself.

"The trouble is Bulk Up only works on Physical Attacks," Brock said, "Whirlpool's a Special Attack."

Finally it was Dawn's turn and after her there would only be three more coordinators performing before the appeal round was over. Having seen Kenny mess up the Whirlpool and Flash Cannon combination, Dawn was a bit worried but she pushed it down as she came on stage.

"Buneary, Cyndaquil spotlight!" she cried and Buneary and Cyndaquil both appeared, "Buneary Bounce then Ice Beam!" Buneary Bounced as high as she could before using Ice Beam around the stadium to create an icy roller coaster. "Cyndaquil use Rollout!" Cyndaquil leapt on the roller coaster and curled up into a ball before before rolling all around the roller coaster. Buneary slid joyfully after her partner, having the time of her life.

"An ice roller coaster," Ash said, "That's a new one."

"And Dawn took Wallace's advice too," Brock said, "Buneary and Cyndaquil are really enjoying themselves."

"Cyndaquil jump and use Flame Wheel and Buneary catch him!" Dawn called and Cyndaquil reached the highest point of the roller coaster and leapt into the air before surrounding himself with Flame Wheel while underneath him, Buneary balanced herself on the highest point of the roller coaster and stretched out her ears. Cyndaquil stopped his Flame Wheel and little balls of fire fell around the stage, not being hot enough to melt the roller coaster but successfully making the structure shine. Cyndaquil landed on Buneary's ears and she held him above her head while the crowd cheered.

* * *

Dawn stood backstage with her friends and Piplup. Harry was listening to Ash and Brock telling him about the time they met Allegra and encountered a wild Darkrai, who had held off both Dialga and Palkia at the same time. It reminded Harry of Tobias and his Darkrai although now they seemed more menacing. It also made Harry wonder how much he had missed during the times when he wasn't travelling with Ash, Brock and Dawn.

"Guys," Dawn said just before Brock got to the part where Darkrai died. She pointed up at the screen which was showing the coordinators moving into the next round. As Ash had expected, Dawn was one of the coordinators advancing. So were Ursula, Zoey and Nando as well as Allegra.

"You got a pretty high score," Harry said cheerfully. Dawn smiled but her smile faded when the last coordinator showed up on the screen. The only one of her rivals who wasn't on the list was Kenny.

"Kenny," Dawn said sadly and looked over at her childhood friend. Kenny put on a brave face and came towards them.

"Congratulations Dee Dee," he said.

"I'm sorry you didn't make it," Dawn said sadly.

"Hey I'll learn from my mistake and do better in next years Grand Festival," Kenny said. To the others it seemed like he was only mildly disappointed but Dawn knew Kenny well enough to know that he was gutted. She wasn't quite sure what to say to him. She'd failed in the appeal round of two contests in a row but it must be even more devastating to have gotten five ribbons only to get kicked out of the Grand Festival in the first round.

* * *

That evening Dawn and all her friends except for Nando, were gathered outside the hotel. Kenny had just announced that he was leaving.

"Are you really leaving already?" asked Dawn sadly.

"Sorry Dawn but yeah," Kenny said, "I need to prepare for the next Grand Festival. Nothing's gonna stop me."

"That's the spirit," Ash said.

"I'll be rooting for you Dawn," Kenny assured her then hesitated and pulled her into a hug. Fortunately Piplup was on Dawn's head so he didn't get squashed between them when she hugged Kenny back, "Just don't lose to the girl with the Plusle and Minun, _Dee Dee_!" Dawn rolled her eyes as Kenny let go of her.

"Not going to work anymore," she reminded him with a smile.

"Aw now how am I gonna annoy you?" Kenny pouted then smiled, "Well I'm outta here. Good luck everyone."

"You too," Ash said. Kenny waved at the group as he walked away.

* * *

Before the Grand Festival's battle rounds began the following day, Dawn, Harry and Ash decided to do some training. The battle rounds would begin after lunch which left them a couple of hours to do whatever they wanted.

"Gabite come on out," Harry called and Gabite appeared, looked at Dawn's Pokemon, then grunted with disinterest. He eyed Mamoswine for a moment but the Twin Tusk Pokemon ignored him, "Alright Gabite let's do some more work on Draco Meteor. Bronzor…"

"Hold on," Brock said, "Don't bring out Bronzor."

"Why not?" Harry asked.

"Have you ever thought that maybe Gabite can't direct his Draco Meteor because you're not showing enough faith in him?" Brock asked.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, "I just don't want to have meteors exploding on me."

"Yes but by bringing out Bronzor, you're implying that you expect Gabite's Draco Meteor to go wrong, instead of showing you know he has the ability to use it correctly," Brock explained.

Harry thought about that. He always used Bronzor to protect himself, his Pokemon and his friends from Gabite's stray Draco Meteor's but perhaps Brock was right. Harry knew Gabite was capable of mastering Draco Meteor, but using Bronzor's Light Screen as a shield during training wasn't exactly a confidence booster for the Cave Pokemon. Of course, Gabite never seemed to be lacking confidence – a lot of the time he actually seemed downright arrogant – but perhaps a slight change in their training technique was required. Harry put away Bronzor's Poke Ball.

"Okay Gabite try Draco Meteor," he said. Gabite obeyed and shot Draco Meteor into the air. Ten meteors exploded out of the orb but only two of them went towards Harry. He jumped out of the way of the first then yelped in pain as the second one landed on top of him. Gabite ignored his trainer and looked critically at the eight other explosions caused by the other meteors.

"You call that a Draco Meteor?" came an arrogant voice. Ursula flounced towards them with her female Gabite. Harry's Gabite's eyes roamed over the female interestedly. Ursula's Gabite snarled threateningly at him, "Gabite, how about we show them how Draco Meteor's really done?"

"Bite," the female Gabite said and smirked at the male before facing the sky and shooting a Draco Meteor into the air.

"I didn't know your Gabite could use Draco Meteor," Dawn said. Twenty meteors exploded out of Gabite's Draco Meteor and exploded all over the area, with not a single one being directed towards any of the bystanders. Harry's Gabite scowled with irritation while Ursula's Gabite smirked smugly.

"She mastered it just before the Grand Festival started," Ursula said proudly and stroked Gabite's head, before strutting away. Gabite sneered at her male counterpart before following her trainer.

"A fully mastered Draco Meteor's gonna be tough to beat," Dawn muttered.

"And on top of that don't forget that Gabite mastered Dragon Rush when she was battling Togekiss," Brock reminded her.

* * *

Dawn stood backstage with Zoey and Nando. All three of them had changed into their contest outfits and were waiting to see who they would be battling first. Zoey and Nando got two unknown coordinators. For some reason, Dawn wasn't surprised when she found out who she would be facing.

"Well well," Ursula said behind her, "I've been looking forward to this." Dawn turned to her arrogant rival and decided to rub the smirk of Ursula's face.

"You've never beaten me before," she said, "What makes you think you can this time?"

"You got lucky before!" Ursula snapped, flushing angrily.

"Same old Ursula, always making excuses," Dawn said. Normally she wasn't the vindictive type but Ursula's arrogance really got on her nerves, especially since Ursula had only rightfully acquired four ribbons. Arguably she shouldn't even have been allowed to enter the Grand Festival in the first place.

* * *

"Now it's time for the first round of the Grand Festival Double Battles!" cried Marian, "First up will be Dawn facing off against Ursula!" The two rivals faced each other while the crowd cheered around them. The clock started.

"Mamoswine, Pachirisu spotlight!" cried Dawn sending out Mamoswine and Pachirisu.

"Gabite and Flareon let's go!" cried Ursula sending out her signature Pokemon and her newly evolved Flareon.

"Flareon's never battled in its new form," Brock said, "And it can't have learned many new moves in such a short space of time."

"That means Dawn's got the advantage," Harry said confidently, "And even if she didn't, she's never lost to Ursula before."

"Pachirisu Discharge!" called Dawn and Pachirisu unleashed a powerful Discharge in all directions, hitting Mamoswine who stood there, completely unbothered by the electricity.

"Gabite block it," called Ursula and Gabite jumped in front of Flareon to protect it from Discharge.

"Mamoswine use Ice Fang on Gabite!" ordered Dawn and Mamoswine's tusks turned to ice as he thundered towards Gabite. Ursula smirked.

"Gabite jump and Flareon use Fire Spin!" she ordered. Gabite jumped up out of Mamoswine's reach and Flareon shot a spiral of flames from its mouth which circled around Mamoswine, trapping him inside the flames, "Alright Gabite, dive into the flames and use Dragon Rush!"

"Ga!" cried Gabite and glowed blue before pointing her body straight down inside the fiery tornado. She slammed down on Mamoswine and the energy from Dragon Rush mixed with the Fire Spin, creating an explosion which also blew the flames away.

"That's gotta hurt," Brock said. Mamoswine groaned as he picked himself up.

"Flareon Take Down!" ordered Ursula and Flareon lunged at Mamoswine.

"Take Down too!" ordered Dawn and Mamoswine slammed into Flareon. Despite Mamoswine's larger size, he was unable to overpower Flareon but Flareon was also unable to overpower him. In the end they were both forced back by the recoil damage, "Spark!" Pachirisu darted around Mamoswine and charged at Flareon.

"Block it Gabite!" called Ursula and Gabite jumped between Pachirisu and Flareon taking the Spark without any damage, "Dragon Claw!" Gabite pulled back one of her claws and slashed Pachirisu with her blue claw, knocking the Electric type away. There were three minutes and fifty five seconds left and Ursula's points were considerably higher than Dawn's.

"Pachirisu Sweet Kiss!" Pachirisu blew a kiss at Gabite, releasing a pink heart at her. When the heart hit Gabite, she started swaying, then turned and lunged at Flareon.

"Gabite no!" shrieked Ursula but Gabite used Dragon Claw on Flareon, sending it sprawling. Flareon struggled to his feet and jumped away as Gabite lunged again. Ursula's points were shooting down very quickly. There were three and a half minutes remaining, "Gabite snap out of it! Stop!" Gabite caught her trainer's eye and remembered where she was and what was happening. She shook her head and turned only to find Mamoswine thundering towards her.

"Ice Fang!" ordered Dawn and Mamoswine struck Gabite with his ice covered tusks sending her sprawling, "Finish it with Ice Shard." Mamoswine formed a single large Ice Shard between his tusks and shot it towards Gabite.

"Fire Spin on Ice Shard!" Ursula screamed. Flareon jumped between Mamoswine and the Ice Shard and melted it with Fire Spin which continued towards Mamoswine.

"Ancient Power!" Dawn shouted Mamoswine's body glowed white and the glow came off its body to form a silver ball on the end of its tusks which it fired at the Fire Spin. The Rock type move overwhelmed Fire Spin and smashed into Flareon sending it flying.

"Flareon…" Ursula said and then looked at Dawn. She gritted her teeth furiously, determined not to get beaten a third time, "Gabite Dig and Flareon follow her underground!" Gabite dove underground and Flareon followed her. Mamoswine and Pachirisu looked around and their opponents burst out of the ground behind them, "Two Shadow Balls in a row!"

"Reon!" cried Flareon and shot two Shadow Balls in quick succession. One hit Mamoswine and the other hit Pachirisu.

"Now back underground!" Ursula ordered and the two Pokemon obeyed. Ursula felt her confidence returning. Even if Dawn's Mamoswine knew Earthquake, he couldn't use it without doing serious damage to Pachirisu at the same time, "Gabite use Dig on Pachirisu!" Gabite burst out of the ground and sent Pachirisu flying before Flareon sprang out behind her, "Shadow Ball!"

"Mamoswine Ice Shard on the Shadow Ball!" ordered Dawn as Flareon fired the attack towards Pachirisu who was still in the air. Mamoswine hastily fired Ice Shard which collided with the Shadow Ball and exploded a safe distance away from Pachirisu, who landed safely. There were two minutes left and the two girls had about two fifths of their points left. "Alright Mamoswine aim Ice Beam towards Pachirisu!" Mamoswine obeyed but was careful not to hit Pachirisu directly and instead surrounded her with an ice ball.

"That trick again?" Ursula scoffed, "Please. Flareon melt that Ice with Fire Spin!"

"Mamoswine use Ancient Power on the Fire Spin and Pachirisu charge at Gabite!" ordered Dawn and Mamoswine's Ancient Power overpowered Fire Spin once again while Pachirisu ran inside her ice ball towards Gabite.

"Dodge both of you!" Ursula cried and both Pokemon obeyed, Flareon taking the initiative to get closer to Pachirisu during his dodge, "Get rid of that Ice Chandelier with another Fire Spin!"

"Flaree!" cried Flareon and Fire Spin surrounded Pachirisu and melted the ice at the same time, trapping the tiny Pokemon. There was one minute and thirty five seconds left.

"Blow the flames away with Discharge!" ordered Dawn and Pachirisu blasted a Discharge out of her body, sending flames and electrical bolts in all directions. Gabite hastily shielded Flareon, "Mamoswine Ice Beam on Gabite!" Mamoswine, who had been out of range of the fire balls and unbothered by the electricity, fired an Ice Beam towards the Dragon and Ground type.

"Dodge it!" cried Ursula and Gabite jumped while Flareon, who was directly behind her, stepped aside, "Flareon use Iron Tail on Mamoswine!" Flareon's soft, fluffy tail turned into a hard, steel one as he leapt and somersaulted in the air, aiming for Mamoswine.

"Pachirisu Super Fang!" cried Dawn and Pachirisu leapt towards Flareon and clamped her powerful fangs onto Flareon's tail, completely unbothered by the fact that it was literally as hard as iron now. The EleSquirrel did a somersault in the air, taking Flareon with her and tossed him to the ground.

"It's not called Super Fang for nothing," Harry noted from the crowd. There was one minute remaining.

"Mamoswine Ancient Power on Flareon!" ordered Dawn and Mamoswine shot another ball of energy at the Fire type.

"Gabite block it!" ordered Ursula and Gabite fearlessly leapt in front of the Ancient Power which exploded when it hit her. Gabite just smirked taking little damage from the Rock type attack. "Alright Flareon use Fire Spin and Gabite use Dragon Rush!" Gabite surrounded herself with blue energy before allowing the Fire Spin to surround her as well, turning the Dragon Rush into blue fire as she lunged towards Mamoswine. The flaming Dragon Rush sent Mamoswine crashing to the ground.

"Mamoswine!" cried Dawn as Mamoswine struggled to get up.

"Flareon Take Down!" ordered Ursula and Flareon charged recklessly at the exhausted Mamoswine.

"Pachirisu Spark!" cried Dawn and Pachirisu lunged to intercept Flareon. The two Pokemon collided and Flareon winced as he felt Take Down's recoil damage, but managed to overpower Pachirisu and sent her sprawling, "Mamoswine Ice Fang!" Mamoswine had been given enough time to recover and was able to strike Flareon with his freezing tusks knocking him to the ground. They were finally down to the last twenty seconds and all four Pokemon were exhausted.

"Flareon use Hidden Power!" cried Ursula and Flareon surrounded himself with white orbs before firing them.

"Mamoswine Hidden Power too!" cried Dawn and both Hidden Power's collided and exploded on contact.

"Draco Meteor!" called Ursula. She'd been saving this for her finishing move but Dawn had been able to figure that out ages ago. Dawn smirked as Gabite fired the orb into the air.

"Discharge on the Draco Meteor!" she ordered and Pachirisu sprang onto Mamoswine's back before unleashing a huge Discharge. Each bolt hit the falling meteors with flawless precision and set off fireworks above the battlefield. Then the time limit ran out.

"Times up!" cried Marian, "And the winner of this hard fought battle is Dawn!" the crowd cheered. Ursula stared at the scoreboard looking crushed. Gabite and Flareon went over to her sadly. Ursula felt uncommonly emotional right now.

"Thanks guys," she whispered, "You did your best." She recalled them and walked away, without any of her usual arrogance.

* * *

Ursula sat in the changing rooms staring into a mirror. She saw the door open and Dawn entered. Ursula stiffened but didn't turn around.

"You won again," she said monotonously, "I hate to admit it but… you're a better coordinator than me." She was expecting Dawn to rub her victory in her face which showed how little Ursula knew her. Dawn wasn't here to mock her but to advise her.

"Ursula you're a great coordinator," Dawn said, "But you're too overconfident and that clouds your judgement. That's why you keep losing. I used to be overconfident too and because of that I lost in the first round of two contests in a row." Ursula turned to her. Dawn was looking at her compassionately, despite their unfriendly rivalry.

"Your friends were right," Ursula mumbled, "I've just been a spiteful bitch." Despite that confession, she couldn't bring herself to apologise. She felt ashamed of herself, but her pride wouldn't bend that far. But Dawn didn't need to hear an apology.

"I hope we can battle again one day," she held out her hand. Ursula looked at it for a long time then stood up. She paused uncertainly, trying unsuccessfully to remember exactly why she disliked Dawn in the first place. Tentatively, as if Dawn's touch might burn her, she shook her hand but let go quite quickly. Satisfied, Dawn left the room.

* * *

"Gabite Draco Meteor!" Harry ordered and Gabite shot Draco Meteor into the air. The meteor exploded and fifteen smaller meteors erupted out of it, "Almost there but we still need five more. Return then try again." He recalled Gabite to recharge him before sending him out for another try.

At that moment Gabite paused as he noticed Ursula and her Gabite leaving the Grand Festival's stadium. Ursula's Gabite caught her male counterpart's eye. Harry's Gabite frowned defiantly at her then fired another Draco Meteor into the air. Ursula followed her Gabite's gaze as nineteen meteors exploded out of the orb. One of them headed straight towards her.

"Ahh!" Ursula cried but Gabite jumped in front of her and destroyed the meteor with Dragon Claw while the rest landed around the area, "Thank's Gabite." Harry glanced at Ursula but didn't say anything. Ursula wanted to scream at him for having had Gabite nearly hit her with Draco Meteor, but for once she wasn't in the mood for a confrontation. She just wanted to be gone so she simply said, "Gabite's almost mastered it."

"Thanks," Harry said, surprised by Ursula's more civil attitude. It seemed that the girl finally had learned some humility. Ursula turned and walked away. Her Gabite turned her back on her male counterpart and followed. Harry noticed his Gabite watching her leave and smirked. Riolu did too. Gabite noticed the pair grinning at him and growled threateningly, before gesturing for Harry to recall him so that he would have enough power to summon all twenty meteors.

"Hey Harry!" called Ash then paused when he noticed Ursula leaving. She glanced back at him for a second, nodded in acknowledgement and continued on her way.

"She's matured," Harry said, "And I think Gabite's just about gotten the hang of Draco Meteor. Come on out and show us again!" Gabite appeared with his Draco Meteor fully recharged and fired it into the air. Ash and Pikachu ran around like headless chickens to dodge all twenty of the meteors. Harry chuckled and Gabite smirked.

"That was perfect," said Brock as he and Dawn arrived.

"And amusing," said Dawn smirking at Ash and Pikachu.

"Gabite must have been working hard," said a woman's voice behind them. Everyone turned. Harry looked curiously at the unfamiliar blue haired woman who looked like an adult version of Dawn.

"Mum!" cried Dawn and threw herself at the woman in a hug, "I didn't know you were coming!"

"I wanted to see your performances in person, dear," Johanna replied and hugged her daughter. Then she looked at Harry, Ash and Brock, "Hello, you must be Dawn's friends. I'm Johanna, her mother."

"Nice to meet you," Harry said, "I'm Harry and this is Ash and Brock."

"Great to meet you all," Johanna said.

"I'm glad you're here, Mum," said Dawn, "I need all the support I can get."

"I'm sorry I didn't catch your first battle," Johanna apologised, "But I was driving."

"That's okay," Dawn said cheerfully, "I won but I'm gonna be facing much tougher opponents before this Grand Festival's over."

"By the way Dawn," Johanna said, "I brought a surprise for you." She took out a Poke Ball and opened it. Dawn's Ambipom emerged and hopped up and down in excitement.

"Ambipom!" cried Dawn, "It's so good to see you again!"

"I thought you might want to use Ambipom at some point," Johanna said, "But obviously you can only have six Pokemon at one time so I had to bring her with me."

"Thanks Mum," said Dawn and gave Ambipom a hug.

 **This was originally going to be three chapters long but I decided to cut it down to two. Some people didn't want the Grand Festival to be in the story at all but I wanted to include it.**


	61. The Grand Festival Part 2

Dawn, Nando, Zoey and Allegra passed through the next few rounds until they were in the final eight. Dawn and Nando were paired with each other for the chance to get to the final four.

"Buneary, Ambipom spotlight!" cried Dawn and sent out the two Normal types. Nando smiled when he saw Buneary.

"Roserade and Lopunny let's go!" he cried and released his Roserade and the evolved form of Buneary. Buneary's eyes widened in surprise as she looked up at Lopunny. Nando smiled at Dawn who was just as surprised as Buneary, having not known that Nando even had a Lopunny.

"Lopunny," Brock muttered, "That could be a problem since its Buneary's evolved form." Harry took out his pokedex.

" _Lopunny the Rabbit Pokemon and the evolved form of Buneary. It is very conscious of its looks and never fails to groom its ears. It runs with sprightly jumps_."

"Ambipom use Swift!" ordered Dawn and Ambipom sprayed a Swift from both of her tails, aiming at both Lopunny and Roserade.

"Lopunny protect Roserade using Mirror Coat!" ordered Nando and Lopunny sprang gracefully in front of her partner and her fur glowed white. The Swift bounced off the Mirror Coat and pummelled both Buneary and Ambipom at the same time, "Now Roserade use Sunny Day!" Roserade raised her flowers towards the air and shot two yellow beams which formed into a miniature sun above the battlefield, bathing it in light. "Solarbeam!"

"Roooserade!" cried Roserade and absorbed light into her flowers, before firing not one but two Solarbeams, one from each of her flowers.

"Two Solarbeams at the same time!" yelped Harry. Dawn was just as shocked and the two beams blasted both Ambipom and Buneary off their feet. Dawn's points were already down to a quarter and they were only thirty seconds into the battle.

"Ambipom, Buneary get up!" cried Dawn and the pair struggled to their feet.

"Lopunny use Blizzard!" called Nando and Lopunny opened her mouth and fired a freezing Blizzard which hit both Buneary and Ambipom at the same time, "Now Roserade Magical Leaf!"

"Swift Ambipom!" cried Dawn as Roserade spun and shot the unavoidable Magical Leaf. Ambipom quickly shot Swift at the Magical Leaf and each star collided with a leaf creating green and yellow fireworks. For the first time Nando's points dropped but only a little bit, "Buneary use Bounce!"

"Bun!" cried Buneary and sprang into the air.

"Lopunny use Bounce as well!" called Nando and Lopunny leapt into the air, easily surpassing Buneary so that she was above her pre-evolved form, "Dizzy Punch!"

"Use Dizzy Punch too!" Dawn countered. Buneary thrust out her ears while Lopunny actually used her real fist. Due to Lopunny's greater strength and the fact that she was above Buneary and therefore had the power of gravity on her side, Buneary was overpowered and sent tumbling towards the ground. "Ambipom catch Buneary!"

"Ambi!" cried Ambipom as she flipped onto her real hands and caught Buneary with the hands on both tails. Buneary opened her eyes and looked down at her partner gratefully, while Ambipom held her above her head with her tails. Nando's points dropped a bit but he was still ahead. Three minutes and fifty seconds remained on the clock.

"Alright Roserade use Weather Ball!" called Nando and Roserade raised her flowers and created a ball of fire between them before throwing it at Ambipom and Buneary.

"Double Team with Buneary!" called Dawn and while Ambipom was still holding Buneary she split into a dozen copies. Nando's points dropped a bit further, "Buneary Dizzy Punch on Roserade!" Buneary jumped off Ambipom's tails but because she didn't know Double Team herself, all the illusions Ambipom had created of her disappeared as soon as she was no longer in physical contact with the Long Tail Pokemon.

"Dodge and Magical Leaf on Ambipom!" called Nando and Roserade saw one Buneary lunging at her from the left, instead of a dozen lunging from every direction and dodged easily, before spinning and shooting out Magical Leaf which obliterated Ambipom's Double Team and struck her. Meanwhile, Buneary found herself right in front of Lopunny, "Jump Kick!"

"Lopunny!" cried Lopunny and sprang forwards before smashing her foot into Buneary with a powerful kick sending her flying. This time Ambipom was too far away to catch her so Buneary hit the ground hard.

"Buneary!" cried Dawn. Buneary struggled to her feet and looked at Lopunny who sprang gracefully over to Roserade. She clutched her stomach where Jump Kick had landed, then looked at her trainer who watched her in concern. Dawn didn't even look at the clock, which was down to three minutes, or her points which were lower than Nando's. She was more worried about Buneary's condition.

Buneary glowed white and stood up straight as she grew larger, until she was the same size and shape as Lopunny. The other Rabbit Pokemon stared at her in shock. Nando's points shot down to halfway but nobody was paying attention. The glow faded and a second Lopunny stood where Buneary had just been.

In the stands, Pikachu gawped at Lopunny. Ash noticed and smirked in mild amusement.

"Lopunny verses Lopunny!" cried Marian, "Perhaps this is what Dawn needs to turn the battle around!"

"Alright Lopunny let's win this!" cried Dawn, "Dizzy…"

"Punch!" ordered Nando. Both Lopunny pulled back their fists and slammed them into each other, leaving their knuckles throbbing when they made contact and blasting each other backwards, "Roserade use Magical Leaf!"

"Swift!" cried Dawn and like before Magical Leaf and Swift collided creating green and yellow fireworks, "Now Ambipom use Acrobatics!" Ambipom darted towards Roserade and slammed into her, knocking her off her feet, "Lopunny Ice Beam!" Lopunny fired a powerful Ice Beam towards Roserade.

"Mirror Coat!" cried Nando and his own Lopunny leapt to intercept Ice Beam, her coat glowing before she could even reached her partner. Dawn smirked as Nando fell into her trap.

"Focus Punch!" she ordered and Ambipom jumped and intercepted Lopunny in mid-air, punching her in the stomach and sending her crashing to the ground, leaving Roserade defenceless against the super effective Ice Beam.

"Roserade no!" cried Nando as the Grass type crashed to the ground, literally out cold. The judge's panels each beeped loudly and a red cross appeared on them, signifying Roserade's defeat.

"Roserade's down and out!" cried Marian, "And with one minute and forty seconds left, Nando's in a tight spot!"

"I am not yet finished," Nando exclaimed, "Lopunny use Blizzard!" Lopunny fired a powerful Blizzard from her mouth which hit both Ambipom and Dawn's Lopunny at the same time, "Now use Jump Kick on Ambipom!"

"Looopunny!" cried Lopunny leaping towards Ambipom and kicking her as hard as she could, sending the Long Tail Pokemon crashing into the wall. Ambipom collapsed, unconscious. The judges' panels beeped again.

"Oh my!" cried Marian, "Nando quickly turned the tables by taking out Ambipom, leaving a pair of Lopunny remaining!"

"Lopunny use Quick Attack!" ordered Dawn and her Lopunny darted forwards as fast as she could and slammed into Nando's Lopunny, "Now Dizzy Punch!"

"Dizzy Punch too!" cried Nando and his Lopunny slammed her fist into Dawn's Lopunny's face just as Dawn's Lopunny's fist collided with her own cheek. The two Lopunny stumbled away from each other and tottered around with dazed looks on their faces. They had both confused each other at the same time, "Lopunny pull yourself together, please!"

"Snap out of it, Lopunny!" cried Dawn. Her Lopunny fired Ice Beam at the ceiling and stared at the sparking ice with childlike wonder, completely forgetting that she was supposed to be fighting. Meanwhile, Nando's Lopunny started pounding herself on the head with her fists. Dawn and Nando had less than a minute to snap their Lopunny out of their confusion.

"I never expected both Dizzy Punches to confuse both Lopunny at the same time," Johanna said.

"Lopunny aim Ice Beam at Lopunny not the ceiling!" Dawn yelled but Lopunny ignored her. Nando's Lopunny now had a nasty headache but it also brought her back to reality.

"Lopunny let's finish this battle!" cried Nando, "Blizzard!" Lopunny shot a powerful Blizzard towards Dawn's Lopunny who hugged herself, shivering violently. "Jump Kick let's go!" Lopunny lunged and prepared to deliver the final blow.

"Bounce, quick!" Dawn screamed and her Lopunny noticed her opponent lunging at her. She sprang into the air at the last moment and Nando's Lopunny shot underneath her, heading towards the wall.

"Oh no!" cried Nando as his Lopunny crashed hard into the wall and collapsed to the ground, whimpering in pain. Dawn's Lopunny turned to face her and shook off the confusion completely. There were fifteen seconds left.

"Use Dizzy Punch!" both trainers shouted and for the last time the two Lopunny charged at each other. Dawn's Lopunny noticed her opponent limping on her injured leg and smiled to herself. At the last second, she stepped aside and when Nando's Lopunny turned to try and follow her, her leg throbbed painfully and she lost her balance. Dawn's Lopunny smashed Dizzy Punch into Nando's Lopunny's face and she hit the ground, unconscious.

"And that's it!" cried Marian, "So the coordinator moving into the semi-final is Dawn!"

* * *

Dawn was nervous as she faced Zoey. She had only ever defeated her once before and that was in a practice battle, not an actual contest. If she could beat Zoey she would get to face Allegra in the final.

"Piplup, Togekiss spotlight!" cried Dawn and sent out her Starter Pokemon and her most recently acquired Pokemon.

"Glameow, Gallade curtain!" cried Zoey sending out her own Starter Pokemon and her recently evolved Gallade. "Glameow use Fake Out on Piplup and Gallade use Swords Dance!" Glameow darted towards Piplup and clapped her paws together, creating a shock wave which knocked Piplup backwards and caused him to flinch. Behind Glameow, Gallade's blades glowed light purple and extended. He slashed his left arm and spun in a full circle before slashing his right arm and spinning another full circle in the other direction.

"Togekiss use Air Slash on Gallade!" cried Dawn and Togekiss created a blade of wind and hurled it at Gallade.

"Dodge it!" cried Zoey and Gallade back flipped away from the Air Slash and landed in front of his trainer, "Glameow use Iron Tail on Piplup!" Glameow's tail glowed and she spun around and slammed the hardened tail into Piplup knocking him backwards. Piplup picked himself up, annoyed.

"Piplup!" cried Piplup and shot a powerful stream of water from his beak at Glameow. The Catty Pokemon's eyes widened in shock as the Hydro Pump sent her flying backwards.

"That's great Piplup!" cried Dawn as Zoey's points decreased, "You learned Hydro Pump! Alright let's keep up the pressure with Whirlpool!" Piplup summoned a Whirlpool and threw it at Glameow and Gallade. Zoey quickly recovered from the surprise of Piplup using Hydro Pump and smirked.

"Iron Tail Glameow!" she ordered and Glameow, still soaked with water, darted right underneath the Whirlpool and positioned her spiral tail so that she caught the Whirpool between the spirals. Glameow smirked at Piplup as she held Whirlpool in place with her tail, "Gallade use Leaf Blade!"

Harry had a sense of déjà vu as he remembered Riley's Gallade using Leaf Blade to destroy Floatzel's Water Pulse. Zoey's Gallade slashed the spinning Whirlpool and split it, tearing it apart and creating a shower of water and sparkles. Glameow didn't flinch; unlike Mars' Purugly, she didn't mind getting her fur wet. Dawn's points dropped but she didn't need to start worrying yet as there was still four minutes left.

"Alright Gallade let's use Psycho Cut on Piplup!" Zoey yelled and Gallade swung his arms and shot powerful blades of Psychic energy at Piplup.

"Piplup jump on Togekiss!" ordered Dawn and Piplup sprang onto his partner's back and Togekiss carried him up into the air.

"Gallade jump and Glameow give him a boost!" ordered Zoey and Gallade sprang onto Glameow's spring like tail which he then used to propel himself after Piplup and Togekiss, "Night Slash!" Gallade slashed Togekiss with purple blades and sent her tumbling towards the ground, also knocking Piplup off her back, "Glameow use Shadow Claw!"

"Meow!" cried Glameow and her claws glowed dark purple and extended far beyond their natural length. She slashed Piplup before he landed and sent him sprawling.

"Togekiss use ExtremeSpeed on Glameow!" Dawn cried noticing that Glameow was now in Togekiss' path. Although still smarting from the Night Slash, Togekiss regained her composure and shot towards Glameow in a blur of movement. Glameow didn't even have time to turn her head before Togekiss smashed into her and sent her sprawling.

"Gallade Psycho Cut on Togekiss!" ordered Zoey and Gallade fired blades of Psychic energy at Togekiss.

"Up Togekiss!" called Dawn and Togekiss ascended safely above the Psycho Cut before twirling gracefully to face Gallade. "Aura Sphere!" Togekiss fired a blue orb which exploded when it hit Gallade but the Blade Pokemon smirked, taking very little damage.

"Gallade use Signal Beam and Glameow use Iron Tail!" ordered Zoey and Gallade fired a beautiful multi-coloured beam from his chest while Glameow raised her tail and turned it to iron. The Signal Beam hit Glameow's tail and Glameow spun it around, causing Signal Beam to spin around her tail in a spiral shape. Glameow gave the audience a few seconds to admire the combination before firing the attack at Piplup.

"Whirlpool!" ordered Dawn and Piplup created Whirlpool and threw it at the spinning Signal Beam. The two attacks collided and exploded, creating multi-coloured fireworks, "Jump on Togekiss, Piplup!" Piplup sprang onto Togekiss' back once more and they ascended into the air.

"After them Glameow!" ordered Zoey and this time Glameow used her tail to propel herself into the air, "Shadow Claw!"

"Dodge with ExtremeSpeed!" called Dawn and Togekiss shot behind Glameow in a blur of movement, "Hydro Pump, Piplup!" Piplup blasted Glameow from behind with Hydro Pump and sent Glameow crashing into the ground.

"Gallade Psycho Cut!" called Zoey and Gallade fired blades of Psychic energy from his blades which slammed into Togekiss' underside. Once again Piplup was thrown off her back but this time, Togekiss regained her composure in time to catch the smaller Pokemon. Glameow meanwhile picked herself up, "Glameow use Shock Wave!" Glameow shot an unavoidable bolt of electricity from her tail.

"Aura Sphere!" cried Dawn and Togekiss shot Aura Sphere at the Shock Wave. The Shock Wave electrified the Aura Sphere but was overpowered and the super effective move continued towards Glameow. Zoey reacted just in time.

"Shadow Claw!" she ordered and Glameow hastily tore the electrified Aura Sphere apart surrounding herself with sparks and blue Aura energy. Zoey still had half her points while Dawn was nearly down to a quarter. There were two minutes left.

"Piplup, Bubblebeam!" ordered Dawn and Piplup fired Bubblebeam at Glameow from Togekiss' back.

"Dodge it Glameow and Gallade use Psycho Cut!" called Zoey and Glameow dodged the Bubblebeam while Gallade shot Psycho Cut towards Togekiss and Piplup.

"Whirlpool then Safeguard!" ordered Dawn and Piplup created a Whirlpool and used it as a barrier. The Swords Dance boosted Psycho Cut destroyed Whirlpool easily but also drew more attention to Togekiss' Safeguard as the sparkling blue water drops from the destroyed Whirlpool caused Safeguard to shine even more beautifully. Zoey's points went down to a quarter and now Dawn was in the lead.

"If Dawn can keep this up, she might actually beat Zoey," Johanna said.

"Togekiss Air Slash!" cried Dawn and Togekiss fired a blade of wind.

"Night Slash!" ordered Zoey and Gallade's blades glowed purple as he tore the Air Slash apart.

"ExtremeSpeed!" ordered Dawn and Togekiss shot into Gallade in a blur of speed which knocked him off his feet.

"Shadow Claw!"

"Drill Peck!"

Piplup sprang off Togekiss' back and his beak extended as he started spinning. Glameow slashed at him with Shadow Claw and their collision created an explosion which knocked them both backwards. Togekiss positioned herself so that Piplup landed on her back again and ascended into the air.

"Alright Piplup use Whirlpool and Togekiss use Aura Sphere!" called Dawn and Piplup threw another Whirlpool towards Gallade and Glameow while Togekiss shot Aura Sphere into the center of the Whirlpool. Water and Aura mixed together, turning the Whirlpool a lighter shade of blue.

"Leaf Blade!" ordered Zoey and Gallade slashed the Aura-Whirlpool apart but as soon as it was out of the way, he found Piplup diving towards him.

"Drill Peck!" cried Dawn and Piplup slammed into Gallade with a super effective Drill Peck, sending him skidding back with a grunt of pain. The battle had finally reached its last minute and all four Pokemon were getting tired, "Alright Piplup now use Hydro Pump!"

"Gallade block it with Leaf Blade!" called Zoey and Gallade used Leaf Blade much like Cynthia's Garchomp used her fins, blocking Hydro Pump easily and costing Dawn more points. Both girls had less than a quarter of their points remaining.

"Togekiss Sky Attack!" called Dawn and Togekiss used her strongest attack, flying towards Gallade.

"Night Slash!" ordered Zoey and Gallade leapt fearlessly towards Togekiss and slashed her as hard as he could. If not for the Swords Dance Gallade had used four and a half minutes ago, Togekiss would have overpowered him, but instead there was an explosion which sent both Pokemon flying, "Glameow Iron Tail on Togekiss!"

"ExtremeSpeed!" called Dawn as Glameow swung her tail. Togekiss darted away just in time, "Piplup jump on Togekiss and Togekiss use Sky Attack!" Yet again Piplup sprang onto Togekiss as the Jubilee Pokemon charged up another Sky Attack.

"Shock Wave!" ordered Zoey and Glameow shot another bolt of electricity.

"Brace yourselves!" cried Dawn and both of her pokemon screamed in pain as the electricity shocked them. Dawn gritted her teeth, sweating furiously as the clock reached ten seconds.

Piplup's Torrent activated just as Dawn had planned. The blue glow from Torrent mixed with the white glow from Sky Attack, turning both Piplup and Togekiss blue. Zoey's eyes widened in shock as Togekiss slammed the blue Sky Attack into Glameow and sent her flying into Gallade.

"Piplup finish them with Hydro Pump!" Dawn yelled triumphantly and Piplup opened his beak, ready to unleash a Torrent boosted Hydro Pump.

"Time's up!" cried Marian, just before Piplup could launch the attack. Piplup closed his beak hastily and swallowed the water instead of unleashing it. Everyone looked up at the scoreboard, "And that means the coordinator moving into the final round is Dawn!"

* * *

Dawn was now facing Allegra, who was an even stronger coordinator than Zoey. The red haired teenager had swept through the Grand Festival without much difficulty, having only struggled against her semi-final opponent, who had been the only person in the entire competition to knock out one of Allegra's Pokemon and get to the end of the time limit before losing.

"Alright this is it!" cried Marian as Dawn and Allegra faced each other in the final, "One of these two talented young ladies will be receiving the trophy and the title of Top Coordinator. Who will it be? Dawn, who has already come extraordinarily far for one so young or Allegra who seems to be in a league of her own. We'll find out in the next few minutes. Begin!"

"Lopunny, Pachirisu spotlight!" cried Dawn and sent out Ambipom alongside Pachirisu. She had wanted to use Piplup in the final round but he was too exhausted from his battle with Zoey. Allegra smiled confidently as she sent out her own Pokemon.

"Infernape, Honchkrow let's go!" she cried and a tall, monkey like Pokemon with flames on its head appeared alongside a Honchkrow who looked similar to Paul's but much better groomed.

"Lopunny, Ice Beam around Pachirisu!" called Dawn and Lopunny froze Pachirisu in a ball of ice, "Pachrisu, Spark!" Pachirisu sparked with electricity which could be seen inside the Ice Chandelier. Allegra lost points but just smiled slightly.

"Flare Blitz!" she ordered and Infernape surrounded itself with blue flames and lunged straight towards Pachirisu, melting the Ice Chandelier before it even reached the tiny Pokemon. Pachirisu was sent flying back with a scream of pain, "Honchkrow now use Heat Wave!" Honchkrow flapped its wings and sending hot, flaming wind towards Pachrisu and Lopunny, hitting both at the same time.

"Lopunny use Bounce on Honchkrow!" cried Dawn and Lopunny launched herself into the air towards Honchkrow.

"Haze!" ordered Allegra and Honchkrow shot black smoke out of its beak, causing both Pokemon to disappear and Lopunny to lose sight of her target. She looked around desperately while Honchkrow flew around behind her, "Drill Peck!"

"Krow!" cried Honchkrow as its beak glowed white and extended beyond its natural length. It tucked in its wings and started spinning, causing the Haze to swirl around it like a giant cloak made entirely of smoke. Lopunny squealed in pain as Honchkrow slammed into her and knocked her towards the ground, before swooping up and spreading its wings so that the Haze "cloak" fell away as the smoke started to fade.

"Infernape, Mach Punch on Lopunny!" Allegra ordered and Infernape's fist glowed white as it lunged at Lopunny and punched her in the face, sending her crashing to the ground.

"Lopunny!" cried Dawn, "Alright Pachirisu use Super Fang on Infernape!" Pachirisu leapt towards Infernape with her fangs glowing.

"Dodge and use Close Combat!" ordered Allegra and Infernape stepped aside before beating Pachirisu to a pulp with its fists and finishing her with a powerful kick. Dawn watched in horror as Pachirisu hit the ground. Only one minute had passed and already, Dawn had lost one of her Pokemon. The judges platforms beeped loudly and a red cross appeared on each one.

Dawn was in the final but it was obvious that Allegra was far stronger than her. Heck this girl made Zoey seem like a pushover! Lopunny stared at her unconscious partner in shock until Dawn recalled her.

"I'm sorry, Pachirisu," Dawn said, "I shouldn't have told you to attack Infernape head on." She caught Lopunny's eye and the Rabbit Pokemon gave her a determined look. They were going to lose and both of them knew it but at least they could go down fighting. They had spent so much time with Ash and Pikachu that neither of them were even considering giving up, "Lopunny use Quick Attack on Infernape!"

"Lopunny!" cried Lopunny and shot forwards, tackling Infernape at full speed.

"Now Dizzy Punch!" cried Dawn and Lopunny aimed her fist at Infernape.

"Mach Punch!" Allegra countered and Infernape punched Lopunny's incoming fist and the impact sent both Pokemon skidding backwards. "Infernape, Blast Burn!" Infernape's head flame grew larger and turned blue. Dawn and Lopunny's eyes widened in horror as they remembered Thorton's Typhlosion using this move against Harry's Gabite.

"Bounce!" cried Dawn.

"Quash!" ordered Allegra and when Lopunny tried to Bounce away from Infernape's Blast Burn, Honchkrow glowed black and clapped its wings together, causing a black aura to surround Lopunny, immobolizing her for just a moment. Harry looked at Brock questioningly but before he had time to explain what Honchkrow had just done, Infernape unleashed a fiery explosion from its body which spread across the entire battlefield.

"Lopunny no!" screamed Dawn as blue flames engulfed Lopunny and danced around the stage. Infernape stood among the flames while Honchkrow hovered above it, safely out of Blast Burn's range. They made a frightening pair, especially with the blue fire dancing around them.

When the Blast Burn ended, Lopunny was lying on the floor with smoke rising from her scorched fur. The judge's panels beeped and red crosses appeared.

"And that's it!" cried Marian, "Allegra has won the Grand Festival with a decisive victory over Dawn!"

The crowd cheered. Dawn felt devastated. She would have been okay with losing if it hadn't been such a one sided battle. Infernape and Honchkrow had completely overwhelmed her Pokemon and seemed no worse for the wear. Allegra had not only showed that Infernape and Honchkrow were extremely powerful but had also used the Haze cloak and the dancing flames of Blast Burn to show them off in a most impressive way. Dawn went over to Lopunny who sat up and looked at her sadly.

"Are you okay, Lopunny?" Dawn asked.

"Lopunny," Lopunny replied sadly and looked over at Allegra who was high fiving her Infernape while Honchkrow circled them happily. Allegra looked over at Dawn and approached.

"You know Dawn," Allegra said, "I watched you make great combinations throughout this Grand Festival but I suggest you put more effort into training your Pokemon for battle as well. After all there's only one appeal round and several battle rounds."

"I guess you're right," Dawn said and wiped her eyes, "Thanks. And congratulations on your victory." Allegra smiled and nodded.

* * *

"Now that this year's exciting Sinnoh Grand Festival is drawing to a close, it's time for Fantina to present Allegra with the trophy!" cried Marian. The crowd cheered as Allegra and her Pokemon stood or hovered before them.

"Magnifique!" cried Fantina, "You showed true power as well as skill during this Grand Festival. You could certainly be a Gym Leader if you wished, yet you maintain the style and beauty necessary for victory in contests. I could not be more thrilled if I had won this trophy myself!"

"Thank you," said Allegra and took the trophy from the Gym Leader before holding it up while the crowd clapped and cheered around her.

* * *

Dawn, her mother and her friends all stood outside the Grand Festival Stadium saying goodbye to each other.

"So Nando we'll see you at the Sinnoh League right?" Ash said.

"Indeed you shall," said Nando, "I look forward to it. Goodbye for now." He walked away while Zoey hugged Dawn, which caught the younger girl slightly off guard as Zoey had never done that before.

"So where are you going next Zoey?" asked Dawn once her tomboyish friend let her go.

"I think I'll head to Johto," Zoey said, "I heard contests are starting to become popular there. I'm guessing you'll be going to the Sinnoh League?"

"Yeah," Dawn said, "I need to cheer Harry and Ash on. After that I think I'll join you in Johto. Maybe we could even travel together!"

"Maybe," Zoey said with a smile, "Well I'll see you. Bye guys!" She waved to the group and walked away. Dawn waved back and once Zoey was out of sight she turned to her mother who beamed at her.

"I'm so proud of you Dawn," she said, "Getting to the final in your first Grand Festival is a remarkable achievement. But I did notice a significant power difference between your Pokémon and Allegra's."

"I know," Dawn said, "Allegra thinks I focus too much on showing off my Pokémon and not enough on actual battling skill."

"Well if you train hard, I'm sure you'll become a top coordinator someday," Johanna said.

"Thanks mum," Dawn said, "So I guess you'll be going home now?"

"Glameow gets lonely if left alone for too long," Johanna said, "By the way, would you like to keep Ambipom and let me take one of your other Pokemon home with me?" Dawn hesitated.

"Is Ambipom happy at home?" she asked.

"Yes," Johanna said, "She sometimes drives Glameow up the wall though." Dawn chuckled.

"Are you happy having Ambipom at home?" she asked.

"Well she's got a lot of energy," Johanna said, "Sometimes she reminds me of you."

"I think I'll leave Ambipom with you for now," Dawn decided, "And one more thing Mum." She took out the little ribbon Johanna had given her when she first started her journey, "I want you to have this back. This is your ribbon, not mine." Johanna took the ribbon and smiled.

"Thank you dear," she said and the two of them hugged, "I'll see you after the Sinnoh League."

"Right," Dawn agreed, "Bye Mum." Johanna let go of her and walked away. Dawn and her friends waved to her as she left and she waved back.

"So," Harry said, "Next stop, Sunyshore City."


	62. Jasmine

"Luxray Iron Tail!" called Harry and Luxray's tail turned to iron as he leapt at his opponent, "Bronzor Iron Defence then Gyro Ball!" Bronzor glowed and a white light passed over its body just before Iron Tail collided with its face. Bronzor floated backwards slightly then spun towards Luxray, "Double Team!"

"Lux," said Luxray and split into a dozen copies as Bronzor passed through one of them. Bronzor stopped spinning and floated above the Double Team.

"Good job," Harry said. Luxray allowed Double Team to fade away.

Harry glanced over at two of the other Pokemon he had with him, Riolu and Drapion. For obvious reasons, he didn't want Drapion fighting with Luxray. Professor Rowan had said that they generally gave each other a wide berth while they were at his lab but Harry was hoping that if they spent more time with each other, they might become friends. At the same time though, he didn't want to provoke a fight between them by making them sparring partners.

"You need to work on your speed, Drapion!" he called as Drapion tried to catch Riolu with his claws and swipe him with his tail. Drapion's rather clumsy blows were easily avoided by the much more agile and graceful Riolu. In the process however, Harry noticed that Drapion's tail claws opened and shut from time to time and realized that could be used to grab an opponent, "Riolu use Brick Break and Drapion try to catch him with your tail!"

"Drapi?" said Drapion in confusion and a moment later Riolu slammed a Brick Break onto his head. Drapion stumbled back with a grunt.

"Your tail claws are just like the claws on your arms, Drapion," Harry pointed out, "So you can use them to grab opponents in the same way."

"Dra," Drapion nodded as Riolu sprang off his much larger body.

"Okay try again," Harry said before looking up at the last two members of his team. Drifblim was using Tailwind to move through the air as though she was an actual balloon that was losing all of its air, while Floatzel was flying after her with Aqua Jet in an attempt to keep up. Eventually Tailwind wore off and Floatzel smacked into Drifblim, knocking her down, "Drifblim maybe we should try having you use Minimize as soon as the Tailwind wears off."

"Blim," said Drifblim regaining her composure while Floatzel ended his Aqua Jet. Meanwhile Drapion grunted in pain as he missed when he tried to catch Riolu with his tail and received another Brick Break to the head.

"Floatzel!" said Floatzel pointing at Luxray. Luxray stopped trying to penetrate Bronzor's Light Screen with Shock Wave and looked at Floatzel, "Zel, Zel!" Floatzel gestured to himself. Harry quickly understood what Floatzel was asking Luxray to do.

"Whoa wait a minute," he said, "I thought you hated that training method."

"Floatzel," Floatzel said, "Float, Floatzel." He looked at Luxray again and spread his arms in a "come and have a go" kind of gesture. Luxray nodded and shot a Shock Wave at the soaked Sea Weasel Pokemon. Harry was impressed when Floatzel didn't even attempt to dodge it, but still winced when the Water type screamed in pain. Floatzel stumbled and fell on one knee. Luxray stopped the attack and both Pokemon looked at Harry.

"Have you been doing that at grandpa's lab?" Harry asked and both Pokemon nodded, "Well I'm impressed. Your resilience has improved, Floatzel."

"Harry!" cried Dawn running into the clearing Harry had been using as his training area, "What's wrong? I heard Floatzel screaming!"

"It's okay," Harry said, "It's just training." Dawn looked at Floatzel who was now standing up, trying to look as though he wasn't in pain, although his occassional winces gave him away. Dawn frowned and looked at Harry again.

"What happened?" she asked. Harry hesitated.

"Luxray shocked Floatzel after he used Aqua Jet," he said reluctantly.

"I thought you had stopped using that training method!" Dawn said furiously.

"I did but Floatzel and Luxray decided to keep doing it at Grandpa's lab!" Harry protested. Dawn's anger faded.

"Really?" she said. Harry, Floatzel and Luxray all nodded, "Oh well… I guess that's okay… if Floatzel's actually willing to do it. By the way, Brock's finished making lunch."

"Oh good," Harry said, "All this training can work up an appetite."

"Zor," Bronzor said sadly. Harry glanced at it. Bronzor sometimes seemed a bit sad about the fact that it couldn't actually eat anything.

"Doesn't a Bronzong have a little mouth?" Harry said.

"Yeah," Dawn said, confused.

"Do you think it can eat anything?" Harry asked.

"I don't know," Dawn said shrugging. However Bronzor brightened up at the idea. Quite literally.

"Huh," Harry said, "I never thought a Pokemon would want to evolve just to be able to eat."

"Bronzong!" boomed the newly evolved Bronzong and opened and shut the little rectangular mouth it had between the two red eyes at the bottom of its hollow body. It then moved its new arms experimentally. Harry grinned but then his grin faded when he realised that Bronzong was completely hollow. In theory if it ate something, that something would probably just drop out of its backside.

Come to think of it, every living creature did that.

"Come on then," he said, "Let's eat." He and his Pokemon followed Dawn out of the clearing and back to the picnic area they had set up.

* * *

"How did training go Harry?" asked Brock when they arrived then did a double take when he saw Bronzong, "Hold on is that Bronzor?"

"Well not anymore obviously," Harry said cheerfully and went over to a plate of Pokemon food. Ash, Dawn and Brock let out their other Pokemon and everyone began to eat.

Harry went over to Bronzong and offered it the Pokemon food. Bronzong opened its rectangular mouth and ate it. As Harry had expected the chewed up remains instantly dropped out of Bronzong's backside. Bronzong's face was even more expressionless than it had been as a Bronzor but it tilted itself slightly and looked down at the chewed up remains of the Pokemon food.

"Could you at least taste it?" asked Harry hopefully. Bronzong bobbed up and down in a nod, "Well that's good. And actually what happened just now isn't much different from what humans and most other Pokemon do."

"Ew, Harry we're eating!" Dawn cried while Ash sniggered.

"Sorry," Harry said. Bronzong then gave him a hug with its new arms. Harry was caught off guard. He knew Bronzong liked him – the fact that it had willingly followed him from Iron Island while it was a Bronzor proved it – but obviously it had very limited ways of showing affection in its previous form. However now that it had arms, it could show affection much more easily. Harry hugged the Bronze Bell Pokemon back.

"Zoong," Bronzong said contendedly. It already loved its evolved form.

* * *

Harry, Ash, Dawn and Brock stopped for a rest at a Pokemon Center near a beach. The beach was clearly a popular place as there were a lot of people relaxing, playing and in one or two places battling. Brock went wild upon seeing all the pretty girls in bikinis. While Croagunk was keeping him under control, the others went to a more secluded part of the beach, separated from the rest by rocks.

"Floatzel use Whirlpool and then Aqua Jet!" called a familiar voice and they saw Kenny training with his Floatzel, who created a Whirlpool before diving straight through the middle with Aqua Jet and taking the Whirlpool with him, causing it to spin around his body before the Aqua Jet faded. Floatzel landed beside Kenny who turned to the young woman standing beside him, "How's that?"

"That was lovely," said the woman who seemed to be in her early twenties. Harry glanced back towards Brock but he was currently occupied with the other women on the beach.

"Jasmine!" called Ash, "it's been years!" The woman turned and her brown eyes lit up with recognition.

"Ash!" she cried, "I didn't know you were in Sinnoh! How are you?"

"Fine," Ash said, "One more badge and Harry and I can challenge the Sinnoh League." He gestured to Harry who waved.

"Hello," Harry said, "I'm Harry and this is Dawn."

"Hi," Dawn said.

"Pleased to meet you," Jasmine said, "I'm Jasmine, the Olivine City Gym Leader."

"Where's Olivine City?" asked Harry.

"In Johto," Jasmine replied, "My student Janina is looking after the Gym in my absence. I decided to come to Sinnoh to get some experience of Pokemon Contests."

"You want to be a coordinator?" asked Harry. Jasmine shrugged.

"I'm considering it," she said.

"How is Janina anyway?" asked Ash.

"She's fine," Jasmine said, "Her Onix has grown really strong and she doesn't use water-resistant polish on him anymore."

"Hey Dee Dee, I saw you beat Zoey in the Grand Festival," Kenny said, while Ash was catching up with Jasmine, "Too bad you didn't win the whole thing."

"Well it was my first Grand Festival," Dawn said with a shrug, "Actually I was lucky to even make it to the final. I didn't stand a chance against Allegra."

"JASMINE!" yelled Brock zooming over to the beautiful Gym Leader and taking her hands.

"Hi Brock," Jasmine said, blushing slightly as Brock began flirting.

"It has been so long since I've gazed into your beautiful eyes," he said with hearts in his own eyes, "Since I've seen your beautiful hair and your beautiful smile. Destiny has been kind enough to reunite us at LAST!" He collapsed and Jasmine looked over his shoulder at the culprit. Croagunk was looking a bit weary after chasing Brock all over the beach, but dragged him away as usual.

"He hasn't changed," Jasmine said, still looking a bit embarrassed.

"So what are you gonna do now, Dee Dee?" asked Kenny.

"Well for now I'm going to go and cheer Ash and Harry on at the Sinnoh League," Dawn replied, "After that…" she shrugged thoughtfully.

"Hey Jasmine, could I have a battle with you?" Harry asked, "I've never battled a Johto Gym Leader."

"Sure," Jasmine said, "One on one?"

"Okay," Harry agreed then glanced at Brock, who had recovered from Croagunk's Poison Jab and nodded, understanding that Harry wanted him to be the referee, "Floatzel take your position!" The Sea Weasel Pokemon appeared and grinned when he saw the ocean.

"Magnezone go!" cried Jasmine and a Magnezone appeared.

"So you specialize in Electric types?" Harry asked.

"Steel types," Jasmine corrected him.

"I see," Harry said, "Alright Floatzel use Brick Break!" Floatzel raised his hand and leapt at Magnezone delivering a powerful chop which knocked it backwards.

"Magnezone use Zap Cannon!" ordered Jasmine and Magnezone formed a cannon ball of pure electricity in front of its center eye and fired it at Floatzel.

"Dodge and use Aqua Jet!" Harry called and Floatzel leapt into the air, surrounded himself with water and shot towards Magnezone, colliding with it and knocking it backwards.

"Use Lock On!" ordered Jasmine and Magnezone's red eye glowed red and shot a red circle which landed on Floatzel.

"Brick Break!" Harry called and Floatzel leapt towards Magnezone and smashed it with another powerful chop.

"Zap Cannon go!" cried Jasmine and Magnezone shot another powerful orb of electricity.

"Floatzel brace yourself!" Harry called and Floatzel gritted his teeth as the electric cannon ball slammed into him sending a huge blast of electricity through his soaked body. Jasmine smirked slightly but her smirk disappeared when Harry gave his next command, "Brick Break again!"

"Floatzel!" cried Floatzel leaping towards Magnezone and smashing Brick Break right onto Magnezone's head, knocking it into the ground. Floatzel landed in front of the electric Pokemon and winced in agony.

"Floatzel took Zap Cannon even after using Aqua Jet?" Jasmine said in shock.

"Floatzel's been training with my Luxray to build up his resistance to Electric attacks," Harry explained, "Aqua Jet!" Floatzel surrounded himself with water, then sparks surrounded his body. He blinked in alarm and realized that he was paralyzed.

"Now's our chance!" cried Jasmine, "Flash Cannon!" Magnezone formed an orb of silver energy in front of its center eye and shot a powerful silver beam at the paralyzed Floatzel.

"Quick, Hydro Pump!" Harry shouted and Floatzel managed to shake of the paralysis in time to shoot out a huge stream of water, far more powerful than any Water Gun. Flash Cannon and Hydro Pump collided and there was an explosion which blew both Pokemon into two of the rocks which surrounded them. Brock examined the two Pokemon.

"Floatzel and Magnezone are both unable to battle!" he announced, "Therefore this match is a tie!"

"Good battle Magnezone!" said Jasmine and recalled her Pokemon.

"Nice work, Floatzel," Harry said as he recalled him, "You took that Zap Cannon like a boss."

"I wasn't expecting your Floatzel to be so tough," Jasmine said, "Not many Water types can take Magnezone's Zap Cannon, even without being soaked."

"Thanks," Harry said, "I felt that training Floatzel to take electric attacks after Aqua Jet was cruel but Floatzel took the initiative to train himself while he was at grandpa's lab."

"Grandpa?" asked Jasmine.

"Professor Rowan," Harry explained.

"Oh I see," Jasmine said, "I need to get around to meeting him before I go back to Johto."

"Hey Dawn," Kenny muttered, "Could you come over here for a moment?" Dawn looked confused but follower her childhood friend behind some rocks. Ash and Harry looked at each other in confusion while Jasmine and Brock smirked slightly.

"What's wrong?" Dawn asked once she and Kenny were out of earshot.

"I… I'd like you to travel with me," Kenny said, blushing slightly. Dawn raised an eyebrow.

"Back when you started your journey you couldn't wait to get away from me," she teased.

"Hey you know that's not true," Kenny said defensively, "I was just excited about starting my journey."

"Well I'm going to cheer Harry and Ash on at the Sinnoh League," Dawn said, "Unless you want to come with us, I can't travel with you and support them."

"How about if I have a battle with Ash?" suggested Kenny, "If I win, you travel with me and if he wins you continue travelling with him." Dawn hesitated.

"Okay," she said and the pair came out from behind the rocks to reunite with the others.

"Hey Ash," Kenny said, "Dawn and I came to an agreement. If I win a battle with you, she has to travel with me and if you win, she keeps travelling with you." Jasmine frowned.

"Dawn's not a trophy, Kenny," she scolded.

"I never thought she was," Kenny said, flushing slightly.

"Then don't treat her like one," Jasmine said.

"Its fine Jasmine," Dawn assured her, "I agreed to the deal on my own."

"So how many Pokemon do you want to use Kenny?" asked Ash, always eager to accept a challenge.

"One Pokemon each," Kenny said.

"Got it," Ash said, "Monferno I choose you!" Monferno bounded onto the rocks, then looked out to sea, looking slightly uncomfortable. Kenny smirked.

"Piece of cake," he said, "Go Empoleon!" His powerful Starter Pokemon appeared. Ash smirked.

"I thought you'd use Empoleon," he said.

"Then why did you choose Monferno?" asked Kenny.

"Because if you think about it, they're typing makes them a pretty even match," Ash explained, "Water's strong against Fire but Fighting's strong against Steel."

"Ash really has grown up," said Jasmine.

"Yeah, I'm even teaching him to cook," Brock said.

"He's not very good at it at the moment though," Dawn deadpanned. Ash shot her a glare before returning his focus to Kenny.

"Alright Empoleon use Hydro Pump!" ordered Kenny and Empoleon shot a powerful stream of water from its beak.

"Dig!" ordered Ash and Monferno dived into the sand to avoid Hydro Pump. A moment later he burst out underneath Empoleon and sent it flying.

"Drill Peck!" ordered Kenny and Empoleon spun and his beak turned white as he descended.

"Flame Wheel!" cried Ash and Monferno rolled into a Flame Wheel and intercepted the Drill Peck, creating an explosion which knocked both Pokemon backwards. "Alright use Dig again!" Monferno quickly recovered from the collision and dove back into the sand. Kenny gritted his teeth, then had an idea.

"Aim Hydro Pump at the holes!" he ordered and Empoleon shot three streams of water into the three holes Monferno had created, filling the underground tunnels with water. When Monferno emerged from his fourth hole, he emerged on a geyser created by the Hydro Pump, "Now Drill Peck."

"Pol!" cried Empoleon and slammed into Monferno with a spinning Drill Peck, sending him flying.

"Monferno!" cried Ash, his confidence rapidly dwindling as Kenny gained the upper hand. Monferno picked himself up and glared at Empoleon. Then he glowed white, instantly restoring Ash's confidence as he evolved into Infernape. Ash was beaming when the glow faded.

"Uh oh," muttered Kenny.

"Infernape use Mach Punch!" ordered Ash and Infernape shot forwards and smashed a powerful Mach Punch into Empoleon's face, sending it crashing into the rocks.

"Empoleon!" cried Kenny and Empoleon groaned as it struggled to its feet, "Alright use Hydro Pump!" Empoleon fired a stream of water at Infernape.

"Dodge it and use Flame Wheel!" ordered Ash and Infernape jumped over the Hydro Pump, before rolling in the air and descending. He smashed into Empoleon, slamming him against the rock once again before leaping away. This time Empoleon didn't get up.

"Empoleon's unable to battle, Infernape wins!" Brock said and raised his arm, "And that means Ash wins the battle."

"Looks like I'm staying with you guys then," Dawn said cheerfully, then her expression saddened when she saw that Kenny looked rather crushed. She went over to him and put a hand on his shoulder, "Hey Kenny, how about you and I travel together in Johto after the Sinnoh League? I'm going to meet Zoey there to compete in more contests." Kenny looked at her for a moment, then smiled and nodded.

"You promise you'll meet me in Johto after the Sinnoh League?" he asked.

"Promise," Dawn said.

"Okay then," Kenny said, suddenly lively and energetic again, "I'll see you there." He waved to the group as he recalled Empoleon and bounded away across the beach. Dawn smiled slightly as she watched him go.

"You know," Jasmine said, "I'm heading towards Sunyshore City. I'm guessing that's where you guys are going too."

"That's right," Harry said, "Ash and I just need one more badge to compete in the Sinnoh League."

"Mind if I tag along?" asked Jasmine. Brock looked like he would faint from happiness.

"It would be an honour!" he cried, "It means I can gaze upon your beauty for…"

"Croagunk!"

"Aah!" Brock yelped and collapsed. Everybody sweat-dropped and Croagunk shook his head in exasperation as he dragged his trainer away.


	63. Flames and Sparks

The group arrived in Sunyshore City a few days later. Ash and Harry had been arguing over who should challenge Volkner first but in the end they agreed that since Ash challenged Candice first, Harry should be the one to battle Volkner first. Jasmine had seemed to feel a bit like a fifth wheel in the group, despite Brock's attempts to help her get comfortable. Of course these attempts consisted largely of flirting, which if anything just made Jasmine _less_ comfortable.

The group spent a night in the Pokemon Center and went to the Gym the following morning. When the group arrived the gym appeared to be locked. Harry knocked on the door.

"Welcome," said a mechanical voice, causing everyone to jump, "How may I help you?"

"Um, I'm here to challenge Volkner," Harry said, feeling awkward.

"Volkner is not accepting challenges," said the voice, "Please help yourself." A panel beside the door slid back, revealing a pile of gym badges. Harry and Ash looked at each other.

"Just like that?" Harry said.

"Please help yourself," the voice repeated.

"Oh come on," Harry said, "I didn't train with the head of the Battle Frontier so that I could just be handed a gym badge. Where's Volkner?"

"Please help yourself," said the voice. Harry scowled. He had a feeling the voice was programmed to just keep repeating that until the challenger left out of sheer irritation.

"Think we should bust down the door?" Ash joked.

"We could," Harry said and unlike Ash, he actually considered it. Riolu went to the door and examined it before putting a palm on it, as if about to use Force Palm. Before the Emanation Pokemon could decide whether or not to try and smash the door open, Jasmine stepped up beside him.

"Volkner!" she called, "I'm a Gym Leader myself and I must say I would be ashamed if I gave away badges without engaging my challengers in battle first!"

"Volkner's not here," said a voice and the group turned as a man with wild red hair appeared. Everyone turned to the man and Harry's jaw dropped. He had seen this guy on television before he'd even met Riolu.

"Wait aren't you Flint?" he said, "The second strongest member of the Elite 4!"

"Yep that's me," the man replied, "Who are you?"

"I'm Harry," Harry said, "This is Ash, Brock, Dawn and Jasmine."

"Pleased to meet you all," Flint said and his gaze lingered on Jasmine for a moment. He smoothly stepped over and kissed her hand. Jasmine blushed and Brock looked jealous, "So you're a Gym Leader too, my dear? Where are you from?"

"Johto," Jasmine said, "I'm the Olivine City Gym Leader."

"I should visit Johto more often," Flint said and winked, "I had no idea they had such beautiful Gym Leaders there." Brock was trembling with anger and jealousy. He'd been flirting Jasmine for nearly a week but now Flint had stepped in and was charming her effortlessly.

"Um Flint, could you take us to Volkner?" Harry asked looking slightly embarrassed. He was used to Brock's flirting but it was quite different when it was coming from a member of the Elite 4.

"Of course," Flint said and the flirting stopped as he pointed to a large tower on the edge of the city, "He's up there. Follow me." The group followed and Brock relaxed slightly now that Flint was away from Jasmine.

* * *

Once they arrived at the top of Sunyshore Tower, they could see the entire city. It was a lovely view. On the way up, Flint had explained that Sunyshore City was powered by solar panels Volkner has made.

"Rai!" said a voice and the group turned to see a Raichu standing behind them. Harry had never seen one in real life before.

" _Raichu the Mouse Pokemon and the final form of Pichu. Its long tail serves as ground to protect itself from its own high-voltage power_."

The Raichu sprang towards Flint who stepped forwards and caught it, smiling as the creature hugged him.

"Nice to see you too, Raichu," he said, "Where's Volkner?"

"I'm here," said a monotonous voice and a young man of about Flint's age with messy blond hair appeared, "Hey Flint." He ran an eye uninterestedly over the rest of the group. Unlike Flint, his gaze didn't linger on Jasmine any longer than the others, "Who are these?"

"Two of the kids would like to battle you," Flint said, "Harry and Ash were willing to break into the gym in order to do so."

"I wasn't serious," Ash said.

"I was considering it," Harry admitted.

"Hmph," grunted Volkner grumpily, "You could just take the gym badges."

"That means we haven't earned them," Ash said, "What's the point of that?"

"Volkner why did you lose interest in battling?" asked Jasmine quietly. Volkner looked at her.

"It's none of your business," he said, "Could you please just go."

"I'm a Gym Leader myself," Jasmine said, "It's our job to accept challenges."

"Great then you can take my job," Volkner said, still speaking in a bored voice. Jasmine frowned.

"What if you and I have a battle?" she asked.

"No thanks," Volkner said, "Just go."

"I'll battle with you, Jasmine," Flint offered, "Maybe that'll help Volkner get his spark back."

"Okay," Jasmine said eagerly, "I'd love to battle a member of the Elite 4."

"Volkner, why don't you come and watch?" Flint said.

"What's the point?" Volkner asked coldly, "We all know you'll win." Flint frowned.

"Seriously Volkner, what the hell's the matter with you?" he asked, "Just a few weeks ago you were fine."

"A lot can happen in a few weeks," Volkner said coldly.

"I think we should just go," Brock said sadly. Dawn, Jasmine and Flint nodded. Ash and Harry scowled as they headed for the lift. Harry glanced back at Volkner.

"Are you afraid of losing?" he asked. Volkner stiffened. Raichu's cheeks sparked slightly and he growled.

"Get out," Volkner demanded and the group obeyed.

* * *

Once they were back outside, Jasmine and Flint decided that, whether Volkner was watching or not, they actually would have a battle. Harry, Ash and Dawn stood back while Brock acted as referee.

"This will be a one on one battle," Brock said, "Begin!"

"Go Steelix!" cried Jasmine and a massive Steelix appeared and roared at Flint.

"Start the fire, Magmortar!" cried Flint and a Magmortar identical to Paul's Magmortar appeared.

"Steelix use Sandstorm!" cried Jasmine and Steelix spun the rocks with spikes sticking out of them in order to whip up a Sandstorm. Magmortar winced with discomfort.

"Sunny Day!" called Flint and Magmortar's hands disappeared into its cannon-like arms as it aimed them at the sky. Two yellow beams shot up into the air and the sunlight grew brighter, causing the Sandstorm to die down.

"Use Dig!" called Jasmine and Steelix dived into the ground. Magmortar lowered its arms and looked around. Steelix exploded out of the ground underneath it and sent it flying, "Good job, now Iron Tail!" Steelix's tail glowed and it swung towards Magmortar.

"Deflect it!" called Flint and Magmortar crossed its cannons over its body as the Iron Tail smashed into it. Magmortar was still knocked back by the force of the blow but most of the damage had been absorbed by its cannons.

"Steelix, let's use Double-Edge!" cried Jasmine and Steelix glowed white and lunged forwards. Flint smirked, guessing that Jasmine wouldn't have ordered Double-Edge if Steelix didn't have Rock Head, which meant he could end the battle with one hit.

"Flamethrower!" he ordered and Magmortar shot a massive Flamethrower from its cannons, even stronger than that of Paul's Magmortar. Steelix didn't stand a chance and Jasmine flinched as its massive body crashed down beside her.

"Steelix is unable to battle, Magmortar wins!" announced Brock, "So Flint wins the battle."

"Thanks Jasmine," Flint said, "I enjoyed that battle."

"Why?" asked Volkner's monotonous voice and the group saw him leaning on a tree with Raichu standing beside him, "You beat her without any effort."

"To be fair, Steelix did get in a super effective hit," Harry pointed out.

"She was beaten even more easily than I was," Volkner muttered and turned away.

"Hold on a second," Flint said, "What are you talking about? Very few trainers have ever defeated you since you became Gym Leader and none of those trainers won easily." Volkner hesitated.

"There was one," he muttered, "He had a Darkrai."

"A Darkrai!" everyone said at the same time. It took a moment for that sink in. Then Harry remembered the mysterious trainer whom had only barely been defeated by Brandon.

"Was his name Tobias?" Harry asked and Volkner glanced back at him.

"You know him?" he said.

"Not really," Harry said, "I only met him once but he had a Darkrai, Latios and Latias."

"Great," muttered Volkner, "So even if I did get past Darkrai, I still wouldn't have stood a chance."

"Now hold on!" Flint said, "Just because the guy has Legendary Pokemon, doesn't mean you couldn't beat him!"

"But I _couldn't_ beat him!" Volkner said and for the first time there was emotion in his voice; anger, "That's the point, Flint! Darkrai wiped out all four of my Pokemon by itself! Even Raichu could only tie with it!"

"So that's why you've stopped battling," Flint realized, "You think you're not good enough to be Gym Leader if a guy can come along and sweep you with just one Pokemon."

"Hey, if Raichu tied with Darkrai, then at least you knocked it out," Ash pointed out encouragingly.

"Yeah but… you just don't get it!" Volkner ranted, "I'm supposed to be the strongest Gym Leader in Sinnoh and this random bloke shows up with Legendary Pokemon and wipes the floor with me! How can I show my face around Sunyshore City if people learn someone came and defeated me with one Pokemon? My reputation would be ruined!"

"That's not true, Volkner," Flint said, "Darkrai's not a Legendary Pokemon for nothing. There's no shame in being beaten by something so powerful. You're a great Gym Leader and everyone knows it. The only one who doesn't seem to believe that is you."

"You saw my Steelix get knocked out in one hit," Jasmine pointed out, "But I'm not moping about it."

"That's different," Volkner said, "That was a one-on-one battle with a member of the Elite 4. My battle was supposed to be four-on-four but it ended up being four-on-one."

"What if Harry and I had a double battle with you and Flint?" Ash suggested and everyone looked at him curiously, "Maybe that would get you interested in battling again."

"You know what, that's a great idea," Flint said, "It'd be like when we were kids. Come on, Volkner."

Volkner hesitated and looked at the group. He felt a bit better now that he had revealed why he had spent the last few weeks moping and it had been years since he and Flint had fought side by side. Finally he nodded and simply said; "Okay."

* * *

Dawn, Brock and Jasmine sat in the stands while Ash and Harry stood facing Flint and Volkner. Volkner had actually built a mechanical referee to judge his battles.

"Each trainer will use three Pokemon each!" announced the robot, "The battle will be over when all six Pokemon on one side of the battlefield are unable to battle. So begin!"

"Start the fire, Infernape!" cried Flint and sent out an Infernape who looked much stronger than Ash's Infernape.

"Spark up, Raichu," said Volkner. He still wasn't speaking with much enthusiasm but at least they'd managed to convince him to battle. His Raichu, who unlike Ash's Pikachu had no problem being in a Poke Ball, appeared.

"Gabite, take your position!" Harry called, hoping that Gabite would obey him during this battle. Since his loss to Thorton's Typhlosion, Gabite had been less rebellious but Harry still wasn't fully confident that he could control him.

"Gliscor, I choose you!" Ash sent out Gliscor who hovered beside Gabite

"Gliscor and Gabite," Flint said, "Interesting. We'll let you kids have the first moves."

"Fine with us," Harry said, "Gabite, Dragon Rush on Infernape!" Gabite surrounded himself with blue energy and launched himself like a blue rocket towards Infernape.

"Flare Blitz!" ordered Flint and Infernape surrounded himself with blue fire and collided headlong with Gabite. Even though Flare Blitz shouldn't be very effective on Gabite, Infernape overpowered him and sent him flying before wincing from the recoil damage.

"Gliscor use Aerial Ace on Infernape!" Ash ordered and Gliscor surrounded herself with white streaks and slammed into Infernape sending him skidding backwards.

"Raichu, Iron Tail on Gliscor!" Volkner ordered and Raichu leapt forwards and his long tail turned to iron before he smashed it into Gliscor, sending her crashing to the ground.

"Gabite use Dragon Claw on Raichu!" Harry ordered and Gabite lunged and slashed Raichu with Dragon Claw, knocking him off his feet.

"Gliscor, X-Scissor on Raichu!" cried Ash and Gliscor flew back into the air, crossed her claws and lunged towards Raichu as he was picking himself up.

"Infernape, Flamethrower on Gliscor!" ordered Flint and Infernape leapt between Gliscor and Raichu, blasting Gliscor with Flamethrower at point blank range and knocking her out.

"Gliscor is unable to battle!" cried Volkner's robot judge.

"Great job Gliscor," Ash said while Harry took advantage of the fact that Gabite's partner had been knocked out by ordering Gabite to use a move that could hit any Pokemon on the battlefield except Gabite himself.

"Draco Meteor!" he ordered and Gabite fired a Draco Meteor into the air and the meteors descended towards both Raichu and Infernape.

"Light Screen!" ordered Volkner and Raichu created a box of light around both him and his partner, blocking Draco Meteor. Harry grunted with irritation as Ash sent out his next Pokemon.

"Infernape, I choose you!" he cried and his own Infernape appeared beside Gabite, "Use Mach Punch on Raichu!" Infernape darted towards Raichu and punched him in the face with Mach Punch.

"Gabite use Dragon Claw on Flint's Infernape!" ordered Harry and Gabite lunged, slashing at Infernape with his blue claw.

"Close Combat!" ordered Flint and Infernape grabbed Gabite's arm, stepped aside so that Gabite's claw passed him harmlessly, smashed his knee into Gabite's stomach and finished him off with a flurry of punches and kicks.

"Gabite is unable to battle!"

"Raichu use Volt Tackle on Infernape!" ordered Volkner and Raichu charged towards Ash's Infernape, shrouding himself with electricity and smashing into him, knocking him off his feet before wincing from recoil damage. Infernape picked himself up and glared at Raichu and Flint's Infernape.

"Thanks for listening, Gabite," Harry said as he recalled him, "Luxray take your position!" The Gleam Eyes Pokemon appeared beside Ash's Infernape, "Shock Wave on Infernape!" Luxray fired a Shock Wave at Flint's Infernape but Raichu's Light Screen appeared and absorbed it.

"Flame Wheel!" Ash ordered and his Infernape rolled towards Flint's Infernape in a fiery wheel.

"Flare Blitz!" Flint countered and his Infernape surrounded itself with much hotter flames and overpowered Ash's Infernape sending him crashing to the ground. Flint's Infernape then winced from recoil damage and let down his guard for a second.

"Iron Tail, Luxray!" Harry ordered and Luxray lunged, his tail turning to iron as he moved.

"Quick Attack!" ordered Volkner and his Raichu shot forwards, leaving behind a white trail and slamming into Luxray before he even had time to do a somersault, knocking him away from Infernape. Luxray rolled onto his feet with a snarl of frustration.

"Harry, let's focus on Raichu," Ash suggested and Harry nodded, "Infernape use Dig!" Infernape dug into the ground and disappeared.

"Infernape, Mach Punch!" called Flint and his Infernape lunged at Luxray but Harry was ready.

"Double Team!" he shouted and Luxray split into a dozen copies, causing Infernape's fist to pass harmlessly through one of the illusions.

"Raichu blast them all with Thunderbolt!" ordered Volkner.

"Infernape jump!" Flint commanded and Infernape sprang high into the air while Raichu aimed Thunderbolt at all of Luxray's copies. Since the electrical bolts were only aimed at the Double Team which was on the ground, Infernape was in no danger of being hit while he was in the air. Luxray winced when Thunderbolt hit him but then Ash's Infernape burst out of the ground beneath Raichu, sending him flying.

"Luxray, Wild Charge!" Harry ordered and Luxray charged towards Raichu, surrounding himself with electricity and smashing into the Mouse Pokemon. Raichu crashed to the ground and for a moment it looked like he was beaten. Then he forced himself to his feet, exhausted while Luxray winced from the recoil damage.

"Infernape use Flamethrower on Luxray!" Flint ordered and Infernape fired a stream of flames at Luxray, who roared with pain when he was hit by the fire.

"Quick Attack!" cried Volkner and Raichu lunged forwards and slammed into Luxray as soon as Infernape's Flamethrower stopped, inflicting a double whammy.

"Mach Punch on Infernape!" Ash ordered and his Infernape lunged at Flint's Infernape, his fist glowing white.

"Close Combat!" ordered Flint and just like he had with Gabite, Infernape deflected the attack before beating Ash's Infernape mercilessly with a flurry of punches and kicks which knocked him out.

"Ash's Infernape is unable to battle!"

"Raichu use Volt Tackle!" Volkner ordered and Raichu charged at Luxray using his Signature Move.

"Wild Charge!" Harry yelled and Luxray surrounded himself with electricity and charged at Raichu. Both moves looked exactly the same. Wild Charge was normally less powerful than Volt Tackle, despite looking identical but since Volkner's Raichu was male, Luxray's Wild Charge was boosted by Rivalry. The two Electric types collided and an explosion blasted them both backwards. Infernape stepped back so that he was a safe distance away from the blast.

When the smoke cleared, Luxray and Raichu glared at each other. Then both of them collapsed.

"Luxray and Raichu are both unable to battle!"

"This is a good battle," Volkner admitted with a slight smile, "Raichu return and take a break. Spark up, Electivire!" An Electivire appeared, pressing the tips of his two tails together as he prepared to battle.

"Okay Pikachu ready to go?" Ash said and Pikachu nodded before jumping off his shoulder. He was a bit disappointed that Raichu had fainted before he had a chance to battle him but Ash would probably use him to battle Raichu when he had his official gym battle with Volkner.

"Riolu, you're up," Harry said and Riolu jumped onto the battlefield beside Pikachu. "Use Aura Sphere on Electivire!" Riolu fired Aura Sphere at the Thunderbolt Pokemon. Light Screen had worn off by now.

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt on Infernape!" ordered Ash and Pikachu fired a bolt of electricity at the Flame Pokemon.

"Thunder Punch then protect Infernape!" Volkner ordered and Electivire used Thunder Punch to knock the Aura Sphere straight back into Riolu before leaping in front of Infernape and absorbing Pikachu's Thunderbolt.

"Infernape use Flare Blitz on Pikachu!" Flint called and Infernape leapt over his partner and surrounded himself with flames before descending towards Pikachu.

"Spin!" Ash called and both Volkner and Flint raised their eyebrows. Pikachu spun towards Infernape, creating wind pressure which pushed him to the side as Infernape descended. He still felt the heat from the searing hot Flare Blitz but had avoided being hit directly, "Thunder!"

"Pikachu!" cried Pikachu and shot a massive Thunder towards Infernape from behind. Both Volkner and Flint were so surprised by the spinning technique that neither of them reacted in time and Infernape took a direct hit and screamed in pain. For the first time since Flint had sent him out, he was showing signs of fatigue.

"Riolu, Quick Attack!" Harry ordered as Infernape stumbled and fell on one knee. Riolu darted towards Infernape but before he could reach him…

"Block it!" Electivire appeared out of nowhere, somehow getting between Riolu and Infernape in a blur of movement. Riolu slammed into Electivire's bulky body but the Thunderbolt Pokemon stood his ground, "Thunder Punch!" Electivire pulled back a powerful fist and nailed Riolu with Thunder Punch, sending him flying.

"Whoa that was fast!" gasped Harry. Ash groaned.

"Of course I forgot," he said, "Pikachu's Thunderbolt activated Motor Drive. I made the same mistake when I battled Gary's Electivire."

"That spinning technique was very impressive," Flint commented, "But you'll have to do better in order to beat us. Infernape, Slack Off!"

"Feeerr," Infernape said and lay down before glowing white. A moment later it was back on its feet, with most of its injuries healed.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail on Infernape!" Ash called and Pikachu, who was now on Flint and Volkner's side of the battlefield, leapt at Infernape, his tail glowing as he swung it towards the Flame Pokemon.

"Mach Punch!" ordered Flint and Infernape intercepted Iron Tail with a huge Mach Punch, twice as powerful as Ash's Infernape's Mach Punch. Pikachu's Iron Tail didn't stand a chance against Infernape's STAB boosted attack and he was sent somersaulting backwards and slammed into the wall.

"Electivire use Thunder Punch on Riolu!" ordered Volkner and Electivire darted towards Riolu, once again moving far more quickly than would be expected for such a bulky Pokemon.

"Counter!" ordered Harry and Riolu glowed red. Electivire slammed his fist into him but was then sent flying backwards towards Infernape.

"Jump Infernape!" Flint yelled and Infernape noticed Electivire flying towards him and hastily leapt over his partner to avoid a collision, "Flamethrower!" Infernape fired a stream of flames down at Riolu.

"Dodge it!" Harry yelled and Riolu backflipped away from the attack and landed safely near Harry and Ash.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail on Electivire!" Ash yelled and Pikachu leapt at Electivire and somersaulted, preparing to slam Iron Tail onto his head.

"Grab it!" Volkner ordered and Electivire leapt to his feet and reached out his his two tails, wrapping them around Pikachu and stopping him in mid-air, "Throw him at Infernape!" Electivire obeyed.

"Infernape, Close Combat!" ordered Flint and Infernape turned as Pikachu came flying towards him, before beating the hell out of him with a flurry of punches and kicks.

"Riolu, use Quick Attack on Infernape!" Harry yelled and Riolu shot towards Infernape and slammed into him, knocking him away from Pikachu. Volkner smirked.

"Giga Impact!" he ordered and Electivire surrounded himself with a cocoon of purple and yellow energy. Riolu was trying to help Pikachu to his feet which meant that Electivire was able to hit both of them with the same Giga Impact. The attack sent both Pokemon flying into their trainer's arms.

"Riolu!" cried Harry as he caught the Emanation Pokemon. Riolu groaned and fainted.

"Pikachu!" cried Ash as he caught the Mouse Pokemon. Pikachu also fainted.

"Pikachu and Riolu are both unable to battle!" said the robot, "Electivire and Infernape win so the victory goes to Flint and Volkner!"

"Excellent battle, Infernape," Flint said and his Starter Pokemon grinned at him.

"Nice work, Electivire," Volkner said and Electivire gave his trainer a thumbs up. Volkner smiled and recalled Electivire. He and Flint approached Harry and Ash, "Thank you, to both of you. After Tobias beat me, I'd forgotten how much fun battling could be. And Flint thanks for sticking by me and being such a good friend."

"No problem buddy," said Flint.

"Hey Flint, could you help my Infernape learn Slack Off?" asked Ash.

"Sorry Ash," Flint said, "Once Infernape reaches its final evolution stage it can't learn Slack Off. I had my Infernape learn it while it was still a Chimchar, although it can learn it as a Monferno too."

"Aw man," Ash groaned, "This is why evolving Pokemon quickly isn't always great."

"I need to teach my Chimchar that move," Harry decided.

"Well my Infernape doesn't need Slack Off," Ash said, quickly shrugging off the disappointment of discovering that his Infernape had evolved too fast to be able to learn the move, "So Volker, you'll accept both of our challenges?"

"Yes," Volkner said, "So which of you wants to go first?"

"I do," Harry said.


	64. Battling the Shining Shocking Star

Harry was nervous but resolute in his decision to not just take the Beacon Badge. He wouldn't be worthy of entering the Pokemon League that way. Harry stood opposite Volkner with Riolu by his side. His friends, Jasmine and Flint watched from the stands. He was glad to hear that this would be a four on four battle, like his battles with Candice, rather than the three on three rules most Sinnoh Gym Leaders used.

"Spark up, Jolteon!" cried Volkner and released the Electric type Eeveelution, which had yellow spiky fur and spiky white collar of fur around its neck.

" _Jolteon the Lightning Pokemon and one of the evolved forms of Eevee. In addition to being able to launch powerful Electric attacks, it can shoot its sharp fur like a barrage of missiles._ "

"Leafeon, take your position!" Harry called and Leafeon appeared to face his fellow Eeveelution, "Use Shadow Ball!" Leafeon fired a Shadow Ball towards Jolteon.

"Dodge and use Quick Attack!" ordered Volkner and Jolteon moved with incredible speed, dodging Shadow Ball and crossing the battlefield so fast that Leafeon barely had time to blink before Jolteon slammed into him.

"Whoa!" gasped Dawn, "That was so fast!"

"Jolteon is the fastest of all of Eevee's evolved forms," Brock said, "Leafeon may be resistant to its electric attacks but it's going to be tough to deal with that kind of speed."

"Leafeon, Leaf Blade!" ordered Harry and Leafeon swung his head, followed by his tail.

"Dodge it!" cried Volkner and Jolteon darted away, avoiding both of Leafeon's Leaf Blades easily, "Pin Missile!" Jolteon fired sharp pins from its fur towards Leafeon, much like whenever Glaceon was using Ice Shard. Leafeon yelped in pain as the attack knocked him over but quickly rolled back onto his feet.

"Rapid Fire Shadow Ball!" Harry ordered and Leafeon fired five Shadow Balls in quick succession.

"Quick Attack!" ordered Volkner and Jolteon darted between the Shadow Balls easily and slammed into Leafeon again.

"Magical Leaf!" Harry ordered and Leafeon swung the leaf on his head and glowing leaves shot out and hit Jolteon, knocking it backwards. Jolteon rolled back onto its feet, snarling slightly.

"Jolteon use Shadow Ball!" Volkner ordered.

"Leaf Blade!" Harry countered as Jolteon fired a Shadow Ball. Leafeon tore the Shadow Ball apart with the leaf on his head, flipped over and slashed the surprised Jolteon with the leaf on his tail.

"Hang on Jolteon!" cried Volkner, "Double Kick!" Jolteon leaped forwards, somersaulted and smashed both feet into Leafeon's face, one after the other. Leafeon hit the ground hard, "Pin Missile go!" Jolteon fired another flurry on needles from its fur and Leafeon yelped in pain.

"Magical Leaf!" Harry ordered and Leafeon shot another Magical Leaf at Jolteon, who didn't bother trying to dodge because Magical Leaf would just chase it until it connected, "Leaf Blade!" Leafeon leapt towards Jolteon and his leaves glowed.

"Thunder!" ordered Volkner and Jolteon shot a powerful bolt of electricity at Leafeon while he was in the air. Leafeon yelped in pain as he descended and Jolteon simply stepped back as Leafeon landed clumsily, "Pin Missle!" Jolteon shot another flurry of Pin Missiles, knocking Leafeon out.

"Leafeon is unable to battle, Jolteon wins!"

"Hold on, how did that Thunder do so much damage to a Grass type?" Harry said in confusion.

"I've battled Grass types countless times and I've learned that when they're in the air, they can't take Electric attacks as easily as when they're on the ground," Volkner explained.

"Oh," Harry said and recalled Leafeon, "Good job, Leafeon. Riolu, take your position." Riolu nodded and sprang forwards, "Aura Sphere!"

"Thunder!" Volkner countered as Riolu fired Aura Sphere. Jolteon's Thunder met Aura Sphere in mid-air and smashed through, causing Riolu to yell in pain, "Alright Jolteon now use Shadow Ball!" Jolteon fired a Shadow Ball towards Riolu.

"Dodge it and use Copycat!" Harry shouted and Riolu jumped, mimicked Shadow Ball and shot one straight at Jolteon, knocking it off its feet.

"So your Riolu can use Copycat," Volkner muttered, "Alright then Jolteon, use Thunder!" Jolteon fired another Thunder towards Riolu.

"Quick Attack!" Harry shouted and Riolu darted forwards, avoiding Thunder and closing in on Jolteon.

"Dodge!" cried Volkner and Jolteon leapt aside, "Riolu's faster than Leafeon but its speed is still no match for my Jolteon. Thunder!" Jolteon fired another Thunder.

"Dodge it!" Harry shouted and Riolu threw himself into a roll, somersaulting onto his feet and turning swiftly, "Aura Sphere!"

"Thunder!" Volkner ordered and once again Jolteon's Thunder smashed through Aura Sphere. Riolu barely avoided another nasty electric shock. Harry gritted his teeth. Aura Sphere was unavoidable but Jolteon could just destroy it with Thunder and Riolu wasn't fast enough to keep up with it. Also Volkner knew that Riolu was capable of using Counter, so he wouldn't bee foolish enough to order a Physical Attack unless Riolu was exhausted.

"Riolu come back!" Harry called, knowing that his Starter Pokemon was outmatched. Riolu hurried over to him as Harry took out another Poke Ball, "Gabite, take your position!" Gabite appeared and smirked arrogantly at Jolteon who was finally getting tired. Seeing his opponent's exhaustion, Gabite didn't bother waiting for a command and fired Dragon Rage.

"What the…?" cried Volkner as the Dragon Rage exploded against the shocked Jolteon. When the smoke cleared Jolteon was unconscious.

"Jolteon is unable to battle, Gabite wins!"

"Um, well done Gabite," Harry said sweat dropping, "But I didn't tell you to use that Dragon Rage." Gabite waved a claw dismissively at his trainer and beckoned to Volkner with the other one.

"You're Gabite's unpredictable," Volkner said, "He was obeying you during the double battle."

"I think that was because he was facing two opponents who were at full strength," Harry muttered, "Jolteon was tired so Gabite must have felt he didn't need me."

"You really should get Gabite to listen to you at all times," Volkner said, "Against this Pokemon it won't be so lucky. Spark up, Electivire!" Electivire appeared and smirked at Gabite.

"Gabite, you remember what happened with Thorton's Typhlosion," Harry warned, "So will you please listen to me during this battle?" Gabite glanced back at him, then gave a barely perceptible nod, "Alright use Dig!" Gabite dived into the ground.

"Get ready to dodge, Electivire," Volkner said. The ground beneath Electivire shifted slightly. The Thunderbolt Pokemon quickly placed his tails on the ground and used them to propel himself to a safe height, just as Gabite emerged underneath him, "Now grab Gabite!" Electivire was still in the air when his tails shot out and wrapped around Gabite, "Ice Punch!"

"Vire!" cried Electivire and landed before lunging and slamming a super effective Ice Punch into Gabite's face.

"Gabite!" Harry shouted as the Cave Pokemon hit the ground hard. Gabite roared and struggled to his feet. Electivire and Volkner's eyes widened in shock.

"Amazing," Volkner said, "Alright Electivire use Giga Impact!" Electivire surrounded himself with a purple and yellow cocoon and charged at Gabite. Gabite had only taken one hit, but Harry knew he didn't stand a chance if he was hit by Giga Impact.

"Dodge it!" he yelled and Gabite leapt into the air, narrowly avoiding the powerful attack, "Draco Meteor!" Gabite shot a Draco Meteor into the air and meteors rained down on Electivire, "Now use Dragon Rush!"

"Bite!" roared Gabite, surrounding himself in blue energy and shooting towards Electivire, who turned but was too slow to avoid Dragon Rush, which knocked him off his feet.

"Dragon Claw!" Harry ordered.

"Ice Punch!" Volkner ordered and Gabite and Electivire hit each other in the face at the same time, knocking each other out.

"Gabite and Electivire are both unable to battle!"

"Thanks Gabite," Harry said, "Although you shouldn't have used that Dragon Rage without me telling you to do so."

"Good work Electivire," Volkner said then looked at Harry, "I have to admit I thought Gabite didn't stand a chance against Electivire's Ice Punch. Spark up, Octillery!" An octopus like Pokemon which clearly wasn't an Electric type appeared. Harry took out his Pokedex.

" _Octillery the Jet Pokemon and evolved form of Remoraid._ _It ensnares its foe with its suction-cupped tentacles before delivering the finishing blow. If the foe turns out to be too strong, it spews ink to escape_."

"A non-Electric type?" Harry said, then shrugged as he remembered Candice using Medicham and Dodrio.

"This is like when Candice used non-Ice types," Brock said, "Obviously Volkner was hoping to catch Harry off guard."

"Maybe I should use non-Steel types more often," Jasmine said.

"Alright Luxray take your position!" Harry called and Luxray appeared and smirked at Octillery, "Wild Charge!" Luxray charged at Octillery, flaring up with electricity as he ran.

"Protect!" called Volkner and a green barrier surrounded Octillery. Luxray smashed into the barrier and bounced off it, taking recoil damage but doing nothing to Octillery, "Charge Beam!"

"Oct!" Octillery boomed and formed an orb of yellow electricity in front of its mouth and fired an electric beam at Luxray. Obviously the attack did little damage and Harry blinked in confusion, but then noticed Octillery being surrounded by yellow light. He remembered that Brandon had decided to train Regirock to use Charge Beam because it had a side effect of increasing a Pokemon's Special Attack.

"Thunderbolt!" Harry ordered, knowing what Volkner was trying to do. Luxray fired a huge electric blast at Octillery.

"Protect!" called Volkner and Octillery blocked the attack with another barrier.

"Iron Tail, Luxray!" Harry shouted and Luxray leapt forwards and his tail turned to iron. He slammed it into Octillery as soon as its Protect faded and Octillery was knocked backwards but quickly recovered.

"Charge Beam!" Octillery fired another beam of electricity and Luxray winced, taking slightly more damage than the first time. Once again Octillery was surrounded by a yellow outline, identical to the colour of the Charge Beam which showed its Special Attack was increasing, "Hyper Beam!"

"Octillery!" boomed Octillery and fired a massive Hyper Beam which would give Brandon and Tobias' Legendary Pokemon a run for their money. However Harry had figured out Volkner's strategy right after the first Charge Beam so he was ready.

"Jump and use Thunderbolt!" he ordered and Luxray sprang over the Hyper Beam which exploded violently and covered Harry's side of the battlefield in smoke. A Thunderbolt shot out of the smoke and Octillery yelped in pain, "Iron Tail go!"

"Luuuxray!" cried Luxray somersaulting and smashing an Iron Tail right into Octillery's skull, knocking it out.

"Octillery is unable to battle, Luxray wins!"

"Good job, Octillery," Volkner said and recalled it, "Spark up, Luxray!" His Luxray appeared and smirked.

"Luxray vs Luxray," Flint said, "This should be good."

"Thunderbolt!" ordered both trainers and two Thunderbolts collided in mid-air, "Wild Charge!" Two Luxray slammed into each other and were blasted backwards before wincing from the recoil damage. The fact that both of them were male and had Rivalry made the explosion even stronger.

"Luxray Iron Tail!" ordered Harry and Luxray jumped and somersaulted as his tail turned to iron.

"Crunch!" ordered Volkner and his Luxray caught Harry's Luxray's tail between his teeth, "Thunderbolt!" Luxray was still using Crunch when he used Thunderbolt at point blank range, causing Harry's Luxray to roar with pain. Volkner's Luxray stepped back as Harry's Luxray angrily turned towards him.

"Crunch!" Harry ordered and Luxray leapt at Volkner's Luxray, baring his fangs.

"Dodge!" Volkner shouted and Luxray jumped out of the way, "Superpower!" Luxray glowed red, then lunged and smashed into Harry's Luxray sending him crashing to the ground. Luxray tried to get up but then collapsed again.

"Harry's Luxray is unable to battle, Volkner's Luxray wins!"

"Good job Luxray," Harry said, "Okay Riolu let's finish this." Riolu nodded and ran forwards to face Luxray, "Aura Sphere!"

"Thunderbolt!" Volkner countered and Aura Sphere and Thunderbolt collided. Thunderbolt broke through without difficulty but Harry had expected that.

"Dodge and use Brick Break!" he shouted and Riolu jumped over the Thunderbolt and raised a hand to give Luxray a strong chop.

"Crunch!" Volkner ordered and Luxray caught Riolu's hand in his teeth but Riolu still had a free arm and Harry had already guessed that Volkner would do that.

"Force Palm!" he ordered and Riolu slammed his free palm into Luxray's face, yanked his other hand free and caused yellow energy to explode out of his palm, sending Luxray sprawling.

"Thunderbolt!" ordered Volkner and Luxray shot a Rivalry boosted Thunderbolt which hit Riolu, who screamed in pain.

"Quick Attack!" Harry ordered and Riolu shot forwards and slammed into Luxray.

"Hidden Power!" Volkner ordered and Luxray fired white orbs, sending Riolu rolling along the ground, "Superpower go!" Luxray glowed red but it was slightly less intense than the first time. However Harry knew that Riolu was too exhausted to use Counter.

"Quick Attack and dodge!" he ordered and Riolu shot away from Luxray just in time, "Copycat!" As soon as Riolu was at a safe distance, he copied Luxray's Superpower and charged as his body was surrounded by red light. Riolu smashed his entire tiny body into Luxray and sent him crashing to the ground.

"Luxray!" cried Volkner but Luxray didn't respond.

"Luxray is unable to battle, Riolu wins!" announced the robot judge, "The victory goes to the challenger Harry Rowan!"

"Yes," Harry said, "Come here Riolu!" Riolu darted forwards and jumped into his arms, "Thank you buddy. Now we can enter the Sinnoh League."

"Riolu," Riolu said happily. Volkner recalled and congratulated Luxray before striding across the gym to his challenger.

"That was impressive, kid," he said, "Ever since I became Gym Leader, I've never lost to a trainer as young as you. Good luck in the Sinnoh League." He held out the Beacon Badge.

"Thanks Volkner," Harry said and took the badge.

* * *

Harry sat with Riolu, Jasmine, Brock, Dawn and Flint while Ash stood opposite Volkner with Pikachu on his shoulder. Volkner's Raichu stood beside him and waved at Pikachu in a friendly manner. Pikachu, unused to interacting with a Raichu who didn't belittle him for not evolving, waved back somewhat uncertainly.

"This will be a four on four battle," said the robot judge, "The challenger will be permitted to substitute Pokemon but the Gym Leader will not. Let the match begin!" It raised the flags attached to its arms.

"Spark up, Electivire!" cried Volkner, sending out the large Electivire.

"Gliscor, I choose you!" Ash called and Gliscor appeared and landed on her long tail, "Alright Gliscor use Screech!" Gliscor screeched very loudly, causing everyone to wince and Electivire to cover his ears, "Now use X-Scissor!" Gliscor crossed her arms and flew towards Electivire.

"Grab it!" ordered Volkner and like he had when he battled Pikachu, Electivire reached out with his long tails and grabbed Gliscor, stopping her in mid-air. Unlike last time however, Ash was ready for this.

"Fire Fang!" he ordered and Gliscor opened her jaws and her teeth ignited. She bit down on one of Electivire's tails and the Electric type roared and the tail's grip loosened. Gliscor then did the same to the other tail, enabling her to break free "Great! Now use X-Scissor!"

"Gliscor!" cried Gliscor and slashed Electivire with her crossed claws, knocking him off his feet.

"Not bad," Volkner commented, "But let's see if you can deal with this. Electivire jump and use Ice Punch!" Electivire placed his tails on the ground and used them to propel himself into the air so that he was above Gliscor. One of his fists became surrounded by icy energy and he punched Gliscor hard, sending her crashing into the ground very quickly, not only from the force of the punch but also from the power of gravity.

"Gliscor!" cried Ash as the dust cleared. Everyone except Flint and Volkner were shocked when they saw that Gliscor had been knocked out in one hit.

"Gliscor is unable to battle, Electivire wins!"

"No way!" gasped Dawn, "Just one hit!"

"Ice type moves do massive damage to Ground and Flying types but even so, I can't believe Gliscor was beaten so easily," Brock said, looking equally stunned.

"Unlike against Gabite, Electivire was using the speed of its fall to increase the momentum of that Ice Punch," Flint said, "Isn't it amazing what a powerful weapon gravity can be?"

"Hey that's like what Nando's Lopunny did to your Buneary before she evolved," Harry said to Dawn who nodded.

"Good job Gliscor, get some rest," Ash said as he recalled Gliscor. He hesitated as he considered his next Pokemon. He remembered what Paul's Torterra had taught his Grotle. However Grotle was also vulnerable to Ice Punch, albeit not to the same extent as Gliscor. "Grotle, I choose you!" Grotle appeared.

"So you're going with a Grass type now," Volkner muttered, "Alright then Electivire use Fire Punch!"

"Great," Harry muttered, "So Electivire knows all three of the Elemental Punches." Electivire thundered towards Grotle and smashed his flaming fist into the Grove Pokemon's face, causing Grotle to yell in pain as he was knocked backwards.

"Grotle use Razor Leaf!" Ash yelled and Grotle sent a flurry of sharp leaves at Electivire.

"Fire Punch!" ordered Volkner and Electivire's fists blazed again and it punched down the entire Razor Leaf, turning them into ashes, "Now go get it, Electivire!" Now that Razor Leaf was out of the way, Electivire charged towards Grotle and smashed Fire Punch into his face once again. Grotle screamed as flames surrounded his entire body.

"Grotle!" cried Ash but stopped panicking when Grotle started to glow. He grew larger and the two bushes on his back were replaced by three spikes and a huge tree. When the glow faded a Torterra was standing where Grotle had been.

"Did you guys know that whenever a Pokemon evolves, their status condition is neutralized?" Flint asked.

"No," replied everyone. Even Brock didn't know that.

"It doesn't restore their energy of course," Flint said, "But Torterra doesn't need to worry about the burn anymore."

"Torterra use Energy Ball!" ordered Ash and Torterra fired a huge Energy Ball from his powerful jaws.

"Knock it back with Ice Punch!" Volkner ordered and Electivire obeyed, sending the Energy Ball straight back into Torterra. Torterra realised that evolving might have just made his predicament worse since now Ice Punch could do even more damage than it would have done while he was a Grotle. Ash realized this too; he had enough experience with Paul's Torterra to know the species was part Ground type.

"Synthesis!" he called and Torterra absorbed light from the overhead lamps but it wasn't the same as using light from the sun. When Synthesis was finished he looked a bit better but he wished this was a gym with an open roof.

"Finish this with Ice Punch!" ordered Volkner and Electivire charged at Torterra. Torterra was way too bulky to dodge and hadn't restored enough energy to take Ice Punch head on. In desperation, Torterra stomped on the ground, but unlike when he used Rock Climb, his claws did not extend. The ground started to shake violently and Electivire tripped on the shaking ground and toppled over.

"Awesome!" Ash said, "That's Earthquake! Alright use Energy Ball one more time!" Torterra opened his mouth and fired another Energy Ball. This time Electivire was too distracted by the shaking battlefield to deflect the attack and got hit right in the face. He crashed to the ground.

"Electivire is unable to battle, Torterra wins!"

"Great job, Torterra," Ash said and Torterra smiled.

"Get some rest, Electivire," Volkner said, "Spark up, Luxray!" Luxray appeared.

"Torterra use Earthquake!" ordered Ash and Torterra stomped hard on the ground causing the battlefield to shake.

"Jump and use Hidden Power!" ordered Volkner and Luxray leapt into the air and formed white orbs around his body. Volkner smirked at Ash and said; "My Luxray has an Ice Hidden Power." With that, Luxray sent the orbs raining down on Torterra, knocking him out. The battlefield stopped shaking and Luxray landed unharmed.

"Torterra is unable to battle, Luxray wins."

"An Ice Hidden Power," Harry muttered, "Good luck for Volkner, bad luck for Ash."

"Infernape, I choose you!" Ash cried and Infernape appeared and smirked at Luxray, "Use Flame Wheel!" Infernape rolled towards Luxray in a wheel of fire.

"Wild Charge!" ordered Volkner and Luxray surrounded himself with electricity and collided with Infernape, overpowering Flame Wheel and sending him crashing to the ground.

"Flare Blitz is a much stronger move than Flame Wheel," Flint said, "Ash really should teach Infernape to use it."

"Luxray use Thunderbolt!" ordered Volkner and Luxray shot a powerful bolt of electricity at Infernape.

"Use Dig!" Ash ordered and Infernape dug into the ground to avoid Thunderbolt. Volkner smirked.

"Find it," he said simply and Luxray's all seeing eyes peered right through the ground to the underground tunnel Infernape was making. Infernape burst out beneath Luxray, but the Gleam Eyes Pokemon jumped aside, "Superpower!"

"Luuuxray!" cried Luxray becoming surrounded by red energy before smashing into Infernape and sending him crashing to the ground. Infernape groaned but got to his feet.

"Ash, Luxray can see through anything!" Harry yelled from the stands, "Dig's useless against it!" Ash gritted his teeth.

"Infernape use Mach Punch!" he ordered and Infernape darted forwards and slammed a Mach Punch into Luxray's face, but the Gleam Eyes Pokemon rolled back onto his feet and smirked.

"Infernape's outmatched," Harry muttered, "That Luxray must be getting a boost from his Rivalry. The only way Infernape can match that boost is by activating Blaze."

"And Volkner's still got two Pokemon left after Luxray," Jasmine muttered.

"Infernape return!" Ash called and returned Infernape to his Poke Ball, which slightly surprised Volkner, "You could match Luxray with Blaze, but there's still two more Pokemon coming after him. Pikachu, take over." Pikachu nodded and sprang forwards.

"Pikachu's male too," Brock said, "So Luxray's Rivalry still gives him the advantage."

"I think Volkner's loss to Tobias was a one off thing," Jasmine muttered, "He's a stronger Gym Leader than I am."

"Pikachu, Quick Attack!" ordered Ash and Pikachu shot towards Luxray, leaving behind a white trail before colliding with the larger Pokemon.

"Luxray, use Wild Charge!" ordered Volkner and Luxray surrounded himself with electricity and charged.

"Pikachu jump and somersault!" Ash cried, trying a technique that he hadn't used in a long time. Pikachu obeyed, leaping and somersaulting over Luxray, landing safely behind him, "Alright, now use Quick Attack!" Pikachu turned around and darted towards Luxray.

"Dodge it!" cried Volkner and Luxray leapt aside just in time, "Use Hidden Power!" White orbs surrounded Luxray and shot towards Pikachu, knocking him off his feet. Luxray landed and smirked arrogantly. He was confident that he had this battle in the bag. Ash and Pikachu were determined to prove him wrong.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack, then Iron Tail!" ordered Ash and Pikachu shot towards Luxray, spun around and smashed an Iron Tail into his head, knocking him off his feet. Luxray's smirk faded as he received a very nasty headache from the combination.

"Hidden Power!" cried Volkner and Luxray shot Hidden Power towards Pikachu.

"Dodge with Quick Attack!" ordered Ash and Pikachu darted between the orbs, dodging them all and tackling Luxray at top speed.

"Wild Charge!" ordered Volkner and Luxray shrouded himself with electricity and collided headlong with Pikachu sending him crashing to the ground. Then the recoil damage kicked in and Luxray's headache got worse.

"Pikachu Thunder!" ordered Ash and Pikachu unleashed a massive blast of electricity. Normally Luxray could shrug off any electric attack without much difficulty, but right now his skull was killing him.

"Thunderbolt!" Volkner yelled desperately, realizing Luxray was close to blacking out.

"Quick Attack!" ordered Ash and Pikachu shot forwards, easily dodging Thunderbolt and slamming into Luxray knocking him out.

"Luxray is unable to battle, Pikachu wins!"

"Good work, Luxray," Volkner said, "Spark up, Ambipom!" An Ambipom appeared.

"Pikachu, come back and take a break," Ash called and the weary Mouse Pokemon hurried back to his side, "Infernape, you're up again!" Infernape reappeared and faced the other monkey-like Pokemon.

"Ambipom, Nasty Plot!" ordered Volkner and Ambipom put its tails in front of its body and pressed the hands together. The tail-hands glowed purple and purple light surrounded Ambipom's body.

"Infernape, use Flamethrower!" ordered Ash and Infernape fired a stream of flames which engulfed Ambipom. The Long Tail Pokemon shrieked but completed its Nasty Plot nonetheless.

"Shock Wave!" ordered Volkner and Ambipom formed a ball of electricity between its tail-hands and then shot a powerful electric shock from the orb. Infernape screamed in pain.

"Nasty Plot made Shock Wave much stronger," Harry muttered, remembering when Brandon's Spiritomb had used it.

"Infernape, Mach Punch!" Ash ordered and Infernape darted forwards with his fist glowing white.

"Block it!" ordered Volkner and Ambipom used one of the hands on one of its tails to block Mach Punch, "Double Hit!" Ambipom slammed its free tail into Infernape before doing the same with the tail it had used to block Mach Punch.

"Flame Wheel!" Ash ordered and Infernape rolled into a Flame Wheel and smashed into Ambipom, knocking it off its feet. Ambipom jumped back onto its feet but Ash had already called out his next command, "Flamethrower!"

"Shock Wave!" Volkner yelled and Flamethrower and Shock Wave collided. For a moment, it looked like Shock Wave was going to break through, but then Infernape opened his mouth a little wider to make the Flamethrower stronger, creating an explosion. Volkner gritted his teeth, having expected the Nasty Plot boosted Shock Wave to overpower the unboosted Flamethrower, despite the fact that Flamethrower got a STAB boost while Shock Wave did not. "We need more power, Ambipom. Nasty Plot!"

"Ambi," Ambipom said, grinning wickedly as it placed its tail-hands together to increase its Special Attack once more. The grin was wiped off its face by Infernape's next attack.

"Mach Punch!" Ash yelled and before the smoke had even cleared, Infernape charged through it and smashed Mach Punch into Ambipom's face before it could complete its Nasty Plot. Ambipom crashed to the ground and didn't get up.

"Ambipom is unable to battle, Infernape wins!"

"Way to go, Infernape!" Ash cheered, "You're Flamethrower's grown really strong." Infernape grinned at him while Volkner recalled Ambipom.

"Not bad," he said, "But your Infernape's still got a long way to go before it'll be as strong as Flint's Infernape. Spark up, Raichu." Raichu's cheeks sparked as he bounded onto the battlefield, "Thunderbolt!"

"Flamethrower!" Ash countered and the two attacks collided. Volkner smirked as they exploded on contact.

"Unlike Ambipom, Raichu's Electric attacks get a STAB boost," Brock said, "Plus Ambipom doesn't have great Special Attack power without Nasty Plot."

"My Ambipom's got a great Swift attack and she doesn't know Nasty Plot," Dawn pointed out.

"Yeah but Ambipom's Swift is a STAB move," Harry pointed out.

"Infernape, Flame Wheel!" ordered Ash and Infernape rolled towards Raichu.

"Volt Tackle!" ordered Volkner and Raichu charged forwards, surrounding himself with electricity and smashing headlong into Infernape's Flame Wheel, overpowering him. Frankly, Infernape was getting tired of having his Flame Wheel get overwhelmed. In frustration, he activated Blaze.

"Infernape, Flamethrower!" Ash yelled and Infernape fired a huge Flamethrower that would have obliterated Ambipom's Shock Wave even with a Nasty Plot boost.

"Light Screen!" ordered Volkner and Raichu created a box of light around his body. The Flamethrower slammed into the box and Raichu started sweating from the intense heat, but Light Screen was doing its job, allowing Raichu to endure the attack, despite Infernape's use of Blaze, "Thunderbolt go!"

"Raichu!" cried Raichu and unleashed another powerful Thunderbolt once the Flamethrower died down. Infernape shrieked in pain and collapsed.

"Infernape's unable to battle, Raichu wins!"

"Blaze increases Infernape's Fire type moves, but it doesn't make him unbeatable," Flint said, while everyone stared at Infernape in shock, "Volkner's Raichu has battled my Infernape enough times to know how to deal with one even after a Blaze boost."

"Well even with Light Screen, that Flamethrower definitely did some damage," Brock said, noting that Raichu was sweating slightly.

"Don't worry, Infernape," Ash said as he recalled him, "Pikachu can take it from here. Ready buddy?" Pikachu nodded and jumped forwards to face Raichu. Raichu went down on all fours and smiled without any of the arrogance most other Raichu showed around Pikachu, "Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Pikachu shot forwards but Raichu was ready.

"Dodge then Quick Attack too!" ordered Volkner and Raichu leapt out of the way, turned with astonishing agility and shot into Pikachu, knocking him off his feet.

"I've never seen a Raichu that can move so fast," Ash said while Pikachu picked himself up.

"I assume Ash hasn't evolved Pikachu because he's used to using speed to gain an advantage," Flint speculated, "That won't work on Volkner's Raichu. He trained it to be fast too before he evolved it."

"Iron Tail!" Ash called and Pikachu leapt into the air and his tail turned to iron.

"Iron Tail too!" ordered Volkner and Raichu's longer, stronger tail turned to iron and shot out, colliding with Pikachu's Iron Tail and overpowering him. Pikachu put his front paws on the ground followed by his back paws so that he took no damage, but was frustrated that his Iron Tail had failed.

"Quick Attack!" ordered Ash and Pikachu shot forwards and slammed into Raichu who stumbled.

"Raichu use Iron Tail!" ordered Volkner and Raichu smashed his long tail into Pikachu, sending him sprawling.

"Thunder!" Ash yelled and Pikachu shot a massive Thunder at Raichu but the Light Screen reappeared and absorbed it. Nonetheless Raichu nodded approvingly towards Pikachu.

"Use Thunderbolt!" Volkner ordered and Raichu unleashed a massive Thunderbolt, at least as powerful as the Thunder, which caused Pikachu to scream in pain, "Volt Tackle." Raichu shrouded himself in electricity but Ash realized that Pikachu had just stored a lot of electricity in his own body from the Thunderbolt.

"Volt Tackle too!" he ordered and both Volkner and Raichu were surprised when Pikachu charged forwards to meet Raichu's Volt Tackle head on. The two Pokemon collided and a huge explosion sent them both flying. When the smoke cleared, both Pokemon winced from the recoil damage.

"Well done," Volkner said, "Reminds me of when Raichu was a Pikachu. Raichu, Quick Attack!" Raichu recovered first and darted forwards, tackling Pikachu with great speed. Pikachu rolled along the ground and struggled upright. He was exhausted, but Raichu was also reaching his limit, so Pikachu could still win.

"Raichu!" Raichu said, grinning at Pikachu. Pikachu smiled back uncertainly. It seemed that Raichu actually respected him, even though the battle wasn't over. Every other Raichu he'd battled had to be defeated before they grew to respect him. It was quite a nice change and Pikachu even started to wonder if evolving into a Raichu would be such a bad idea.

He decided to worry about that once the battle was over.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack!" Ash yelled and Pikachu shot towards Raichu.

"Dodge then use Iron Tail!" ordered Volkner and Raichu stepped aside and swung his long tail at Pikachu. Pikachu slowed down as soon as he passed him and turned, only to find Raichu's tail descending towards him.

"Iron Tail!" Ash yelled, knowing that Pikachu had no time to dodge due to Raichu's impressive speed. Pikachu swung his tail up as Raichu's tail came down and they collided. Unlike last time, Pikachu was braced against the floor so he managed to push Iron Tail aside, "Now get away Pikachu!" Raichu brought his tail back around for a second attack, but after blocking the first, Pikachu had gained enough time to leap aside.

"Just like when we were younger, hey Raichu," Volkner said and Raichu nodded. He hadn't faced a Pikachu this powerful since he'd evolved and that was several years ago. "Use Quick Attack!" Raichu shot towards Pikachu.

"Dodge it!" yelled Ash and Pikachu leapt aside at the last second.

"Iron Tail!" Volkner ordered and Raichu skidded to a halt and swung his tail.

"Dodge with Quick Attack!" Ash yelled and Pikachu used Quick Attack to shoot away from the Iron Tail, "Alright Pikachu Volt Tackle!"

"Raichu, Volt Tackle too!" Volkner ordered and the two Pokemon charged at each other, surrounding themselves with electricity and bracing themselves for the collision and the recoil damage.

"Iron Tail!" Ash yelled and Pikachu, still in his Volt Tackle, somersaulted and smashed an electrified Iron Tail into Raichu's head as they collided. Another explosion sent both Pokemon flying. The smoke cleared and Pikachu and Raichu stared at each other, battered, bruised and too exhausted to even try attacking each other from a distance. All they could do was stand, stare and wait for the other to collapse.

There was a thump as one of them fainted.

It was Raichu.

"Raichu is unable to battle, Pikachu wins!" announced the robot referee, "The victory goes to Ash Ketchum!"

"Alright!" Ash punched the air, "Pikachu we won!"

"Pika!" cried Pikachu. That was the first time he had ever defeated a Raichu on his first attempt. Not only that but this Raichu had actually been friendly so Pikachu was even starting to reconsider his refusal to evolve. Right now though he was too exhausted to worry about evolution, so he fell into Ash's arms when his trainer reached him.

"Great battle, Raichu," Volkner said, rubbing Raichu's head. Raichu smiled tiredly and the pair crossed over to Ash a Pikachu, "Ash your spark reminds me of myself when I was your age. The Beacon Badge is rightfully yours." He held out said badge and Ash took it.

"Raichu," Raichu said to Pikachu.

"Pikachu," Pikachu said smiling at his new friend then looked up at his trainer who held up the badge for the audience.

"I got the Beacon Badge!" Ash yelled.

"Yes Ash we can all see that," Harry deadpanned but smiled and added sincerely, "Congratulations."

* * *

"You're leaving?" said Brock looking heartbroken. The group were all standing outside Volkner's gym and Jasmine had announced that she was returning to Johto.

"Sorry Brock but I've been away from my gym for too long," Jasmine said apologetically, "But it was nice seeing you and Ash again. And I'm happy to have met the rest of you too."

"Believe me the pleasure's all mine," Flint said winking. Volkner elbowed him rather hard.

"Maybe I'll see you in Johto someday," Harry said.

"I hope so," said Jasmine, "Goodbye everyone." Flint kissed her hand like he had when they first met.

"Until we meet again," he said. Brock scowled and Volkner rolled his eyes, before holding up a hand to Jasmine in farewell.

"See you," Harry said.

"Bye Jasmine," said Ash.

"Goodbye," said Dawn.

"Farewell my love!" Brock cried melodramatically. Croagunk appeared, his hand glowing threateningly, "Kidding! I was kidding!" Everyone sweat dropped and Jasmine shook her head in exasperation. Then she raised her hand and waved as she walked away


	65. Loyalty

Harry, Ash, Dawn and Brock were on their way to Lily of the Valley Island where the Pokemon League would be taking place. They still had a couple of weeks which enabled Harry and Ash to really focus on their training.

While Ash focussed only on training the Pokemon he'd caught in or in Pikachu's case brought to Sinnoh, Harry had to rotate his own Pokemon regularly. He decided that in the next region he travelled to he wouldn't catch so many because it was hard to focus on so many Pokemon at once.

Glaceon had mastered aiming her Ice Beam and was now working on adding a fourth beam to the normally three beamed attack. The fourth beam often went astray from the other three, but by focussing on the three beams going in the right direction, Glaceon gradually managed to get the fourth to follow.

Leafeon was working on learning Solarbeam. As long as he was using Sunny Day, he could use it easily but without Sunny Day, he often lost focus whilst he was absorbing light for the attack. Harry wasn't too worried about that since Sunny Day enabled Solarbeam to be fired instantly, but Brock warned him that if Sunny Day was somehow disabled, such as through a weather changing or weather disabling Ability, Leafeon should be prepared to maintain absorbing Solarbeam's energy for an extended period of time.

Floatzel continued enduring Luxray's Electric attacks and by using Bulk Up, he built up a decent resilience to Wild Charge, although due to Bulk Up's ineffectiveness against Special Attacks, he still had trouble with Shock Wave. Floatzel even managed to endure a head on collision with Luxray's Wild Charge within an Aqua Jet, albeit only after using Bulk Up twice.

Bronzong was trying to learn Safeguard by having Spiritomb use Hypnosis on it, although it took a whole week for Bronzong to be able to look straight at Spiritomb's Hypnosis without falling asleep. When it did, Harry had Glaceon and Floatzel use Ice Beam and Ice Fang on it at the same time to make sure the Safeguard would also block their freezing side effect.

Spiritomb also mastered Dream Eater, which was delightful for him because it was basically the equivalent of eating a delicious meal, something he couldn't do with actual food. Unfortunately he sometimes used it on Harry, Ash, Brock or Dawn in the middle of the night as a prank. The funny thing was the one couldn't actually feel being hit by a Dream Eater and even though their energy levels decreased, they wouldn't notice the exhaustion until they woke up, which was basically the equivalent of a hangover.

Drapion was still practicing catching Pokemon with his tail, or even just beating them in a match of brute strength, usually using Dawn's Mamoswine, Ash's Torterra or Infernape, Brock's Sudowoodo and ocassionally Harry's Gabite as sparring partners since they had the physical strength which made Drapion consider them worthy opponents. Unlike most of Harry's other Pokemon, Drapion wasn't trying to learn a new move or improve on the power of one he already knew, but simply build up his speed and physical power.

Harry even managed to get Luxray to help Drapion by having him use Iron Tail while Drapion tried to catch his tail with the claws on the end of his own. When Drapion finally managed to flawlessly intercept an Iron Tail however, Luxray automatically let out a blast of electricity and the pair nearly got into a fight. Fortunately Ash's Pikachu managed to calm them down.

Gabite generally preferred training alone, often leaving the group to do things in private. Harry checked on him from time to time but although Gabite allowed him to watch as he smashed boulders with Rock Smash or even deliberately made his own Draco Meteor land on him to improve his resilience, he still maintained some distance from his trainer.

Chimchar quite literally slacked off during training, which was exactly what she needed to do in order to learn Slack Off. However simply relaxing didn't automatically make Slack Off work which sometimes irritated Chimchar, who generally preferred more proactive forms of training. Although Chimchar could still learn Slack Off when she evolved into Monferno, she still had no interest in taking that form, although she still got along well with Ash's Infernape.

Vespiquen tried to help Chimchar master Slack Off by demonstrating Roost and it seemed to be working. The Beehive Pokemon was also practicing Silver Wind and often allowed other Pokemon to attack her whilst she blocked the attacks with Protect, or ocassionally just took the attack to increase her endurance. Harry thought that if she could take direct hits from Stone Edge then she didn't need to increase her endurance any further but Vespiquen still allowed herself to be a target for the other Pokemon.

Drifblim mastered using Minimize right after Tailwind wore off by having Floatzel and Ash's Buizel chase her around with Aqua Jet before shrinking as soon as the wind died down. Drifblim and Vespiquen sometimes played by having Drifblim summon Tailwind, which could result in a rather enjoyable, albeit brief, ride on the wind. They even managed to persuade Ash's Staraptor, Gliscor and Dawn's Togekiss to join in.

Riolu was developing the ability to form two Aura Sphere's in each hand and launch them at two different opponents at the same time. He usually used Vespiquen and Bronzong to help him with this training as they were able to shrug off Aura Sphere, although Bronzong would use Light Screen since its Steel type characteristics made Aura Sphere more than uncomfortable but less than painful without the defensive move.

Harry wondered if Riolu was going to evolve before the Sinnoh League began but the Emanation Pokemon still seemed to like his current body. Like Ash's Pikachu however, he did think that maybe he should evolve soon. Like Pikachu, he had little to no reason not to evolve anymore but Riolu wanted his evolution to be special and not just evolve simply to prove he could.

Ash's Infernape was practicing Close Combat and Flare Blitz while Pikachu was going out of his comfort zone by trying to learn a defensive move, Light Screen. Torterra mastered Leaf Storm, Buizel learned Ice Punch and Staraptor and Gliscor practiced their flying manoeuvres, sometimes with help from Drifblim's Tailwind but usually by themselves.

* * *

After two weeks of training, Harry and Ash finally felt ready for the Sinnoh League, which was just as well because it was only three days away. Whilst waiting for their ferry, the boys were training on the beach while Dawn and Brock watched them. There were numerous other trainers on the beach also training or sparring with their Pokemon.

"Riolu, Aura Sphere!" Harry ordered and Riolu formed two Aura Spheres, one in each hand, before throwing the one in his right hand, spinning around and hurling the one in his left towards Pikachu.

"Pikachu, Light Screen!" Ash called and Pikachu's red cheeks turned yellow and a yellow box surrounded his body, successfully blocking both Aura Spheres, "That was great buddy."

"Pika," Pikachu said happily.

"Tyranitar, Hyper Beam!" called a voice from nearby and a violent explosion threw sand over Harry while he was watching Ash congratulate Pikachu. He turned angrily and saw an unconscious Medicham in the sand with a Tyranitar standing over him. Judging by the bruise on Medicham's knee and the fact that Tyranitar had no obvious injury, it seemed that Medicham had missed with a Hi Jump Kick and left itself open to Hyper Beam, "Ha, that Pokemon League trophy is as good as mine!" said Tyranitar's trainer, an arrogant looking boy with blond hair.

"Could you tell Tyranitar to watch where it's aiming?" Harry asked, shaking sand out of his hair. The boy looked at him contemptuously.

"It was aiming for Medicham," he said, "You were just too close." Harry then jumped as Gabite burst out of his Poke Ball. Gabite looked at Tyranitar as though he recognized it and smirked. Tyranitar's eyes also lit up with recognition and it smirked back.

"Gabite?" Harry said, confused. Gabite looked at him and gestured to Tyranitar.

"Harry," said Brock quietly, "This is the same Tyranitar who caused that landslide in the mountains."

"Are you sure?" Harry said.

"Positive," Brock replied.

"So do you wanna battle or not?" asked the boy.

"Yeah," Harry said, "I'm Harry. And you are?"

"Derek," said the boy, "You using Riolu or Gabite?" Harry turned to Riolu but Gabite stepped forwards first and snarled at Tyranitar. Harry looked from Riolu to Gabite and back again. Riolu shrugged but stepped back. As far as type was concerned, Riolu had a huge advantage over Tyranitar but Gabite had never been able to finish his previous battle with it.

"Gabite," Harry said.

"Alright then," Derek replied, "Tyranitar, let's get this overwith. Use Stone Edge!" Tyranitar sent stones flying towards Gabite.

"Rock Smash!" Harry called and Gabite's claws turned white and he smashed each stone swiftly, "Dragon Rage!" Gabite fired an orb of draconic energy which exploded against Tyranitar causing it to stumble back.

"Not bad," Derek said, "Tyranitar use Payback!" Tyranitar was surrounded by a black aura and then smashed into Gabite sending him crashing to the ground. The sand cushioned Gabite's fall and he was back on his feet in an instant. He then lunged and smashed a Rock Smash into Tyranitar. Harry had been about to tell him to do that, but still wished that Gabite had waited for the command, "Iron Tail!" Tyranitar recovered from Rock Smash surprisingly quickly and smashed Iron Tail into Gabite, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Gabite, you okay?" Harry asked. Gabite grunted dismissively and pulled himself upright, "Dragon Rush!" Instead of Dragon Rush, Gabite tried to use another Rock Smash. Since it was a Fighting type move it made sense to try that but Gabite had still disobeyed Harry's command. Derek looked amused.

"Dodge and use Crunch," he said and Tyranitar stepped aside with surprising speed for such a huge Pokemon and snapped its sharp teeth shut on Gabite's neck. Gabite roared in pain, "You think you stand a chance in the Pokemon League if your Gabite doesn't listen to you? Tyranitar Iron Tail!" Tyranitar released Gabite, who now had some rather serious looking bite wound on his neck and smashed its steel tail into him, "Now Hyper Beam!"

"Rar!" Tyranitar roared and fired a massive yellow beam. Gabite tried to defend himself with his fins, but the beam was too powerful and he crashed into a rock.

"Gabite!" Harry cried and rushed over to the unconscious Cave Pokemon.

"Well that was pathetic," Derek said, "Come on Tyranitar." Tyranitar looked at Gabite smugly and followed its trainer as he strode away. Harry ignored him completely, more worried about the blood flowing from Gabite's neck.

"Gabite return," Harry said and without even turning to his friends he rushed towards the Pokemon Center. Riolu was the first to follow him.

* * *

"That bite wound on Gabite's neck did a lot of damage," Nurse Joy told Harry, "It's not fatal, but Gabite will need to stay here for treatment."

"But the boat leaves in ten minutes," Dawn protested. Harry looked at Gabite who was lying on a table with a Chansey bustling around him.

"Gabite won't heal that fast," Nurse Joy said grimly, "Like I said the wound isn't fatal, but if Gabite strains himself, he'll make it worse. Tyranitar's teeth got dangerously close to the jugular."

"How long will it take Gabite to heal?" asked Harry.

"With Chansey's Softboiled, a couple of hours," Nurse Joy said, "Otherwise it would take several days."

"The Pokemon League starts in two days," Ash reminded Harry.

"You could leave Gabite's Poke Ball here with me and I'll send him over once he's recovered," Nurse Joy suggested.

Harry thought about the proposal. It sounded like a good idea but something stopped him from agreeing. Perhaps it was Aura or perhaps just his own conscience but he felt like he shouldn't abandon Gabite now. The Cave Pokemon was arrogant and disobedient but he wasn't as bad as he had been when Harry caught him. If Harry left now, all the progress he'd made towards gaining Gabite's loyalty would be lost.

"I need to stay here," Harry decided.

"But Harry, today's ferry is the last one going to Lily of the Valley Island," Dawn protested.

"And tomorrow will be your last chance to register," Ash added.

"I can't just leave Gabite like this," Harry said, "He's badly hurt. If I left him in this state, I'd be as bad as Paul."

"I think that's the right decision," Nurse Joy said, "A trainer should be responsible for their Pokemon."

"You guys go on ahead," Harry said. Ash, Dawn and Brock looked at each other.

"Harry are you sure about this?" asked Brock.

"No," Harry admitted, "But I feel like I have to do this. So please don't try and talk me out of it because I'm afraid that you might succeed." His friends nodded in understanding.

"You'll still be there to cheer for me right?" Ash said. Harry nodded.

"Now go on, before you miss the boat," he said. Ash, Dawn and Brock reluctantly left.

In the operating room, Gabite had one eye open and watched as his trainer's friends left, while Harry and Riolu stayed. He couldn't hear what was going on but from what he could see through the glass, it seemed that Harry's friends had abandoned him.

Gabite then groaned as Chansey gently used Sofrboiled on him. The bite wounds on his neck were still visible but at least they'd stopped bleeding. His whole body hurt from the beating he'd taken; he was fairly sure Tyranitar's Iron Tail had broken his ribs.

Outside Harry saw Gabite shift uncomfortably. He shook his head, silently telling him to stay still and not aggravate his injuries.

"Riolu," Riolu said sadly. Harry looked down at him.

"I know buddy," he said, "I'm upset too. But I'm not Paul."

* * *

"Harry," said Nurse Joy a couple of hours later, "Gabite's still tender but you can visit him now."

"Thanks Nurse Joy," Harry said and went into Gabite's room. The Cave Pokemon looked up at him, "How are you feeling, Gabite?" Gabite shrugged and looked at his trainer, then at Riolu who was frowning at him.

"Riolu, lu," Riolu said, telling Gabite that the boat had left. Gabite knew about the Pokemon League. Harry had told all of his Pokemon about it but Gabite had never really paid much attention. However when Riolu continued speaking, he began to feel guilty, "Rio, lu." Riolu had just explained that it was the _last_ boat.

"Bite," Gabite said quietly and looked at Harry who smiled sadly.

"I'm glad you're okay," Harry said, "That Tyranitar was needlessly aggressive." It reminded Gabite of himself now that he thought about it. But at least Tyranitar hadn't been disobedient. Gabite started to feel guiltier about his behaviour. He had been better since losing to Thorton's Typhlosion but still preferred to fight battles his own way. If Harry gave a command Gabite didn't like, he would simply ignore it. "How's your neck?"

"Gabite," Gabite mumbled, lowering his head slightly.

"You upset about missing the Pokemon League?" asked Harry and Gabite nodded, "Don't worry, there's always next year. Come to think of it, if we do a whole year of training, we'll be almost guaranteed to win next year."

Gabite wasn't the most sensitive of Pokemon but even he could see that Harry was much more upset than the Cave Pokemon was about missing the Pokemon League. Gabite also knew that it was his fault. He almost wished Harry had just left him here because then Gabite wouldn't need to feel guilty. At the same time though he was glad Harry had stayed. Despite Gabite's behaviour, Harry evidently cared about him. Gabite hadn't really given him much reason to but he did anyway.

* * *

Gabite stood on the now deserted beach with Harry, Riolu, Bronzong, Luxray, Chimchar and Floatzel. Gabite had been advised not to get involved in strenuous activity for two days and for once, he wasn't going to ignore the advice. Instead he just watched the others training.

"Bronzong Gyro Ball and Floatzel use Bulk Up!" Harry ordered and Bronzong extended its arms and a silver ball appeared at the end of each of them before it started spinning. Floatzel inflated his floatation sac and glowed red as Bronzor slammed into him. Floatzel dug his feet into the wet sand and stood his ground, "Brick Break and Iron Defense!" Bronzong immediately stopped spinning and crossed its arms a split second before Floatzel slammed Brick Break into it. Bronzong spread its arms and pushed Floatzel away, causing him to retreat. Harry nodded approvingly.

Gabite looked at Floatzel's floatation sac, then at Harry. Then he looked at the sea and had an idea.

"Gabite!" he called and hurried forwards. Bronzong floated away from Floatzel and everyone turned to Gabite in confusion, "Bite, Gabite, Bite!" Gabite gestured to Floatzel, then to Harry and finally to the ocean. Harry was confused but Floatzel's eyes lit up.

"Floatzel," he said nodding and turned to Harry, "Zel!" Harry looked at the two Pokemon, then at the sea.

"Are you guys suggesting that Floatzel carry me to the Lily of the Valley Conference?" he asked and both Pokemon nodded, "But who knows how far it is? And what about the Tentacool and Tentacruel and Sharpedo and who knows what else?"

"Zong!" boomed Bronzong and created Safeguard and Light Screen around Floatzel. Floatzel inflated his sac and hit it with his fist to show how tough it was.

"Safeguard and Light Screen only last for a limited time," Harry said to Bronzong. In answer, Bronzong floated out to sea and levitated above it, spreading its arms to emphasize its point. Harry looked around at his Pokemon who were clearly all on board with the idea. Finally Harry smiled, "Okay. Let's do it!" His Pokemon cheered. Gabite stepped forwards looking unusually hesitant.

"Bite, Gabite," he said quietly and Harry realized he was apologising. Harry smiled.

"Appology accepted, Gabite," he said and Gabite smiled. Harry took out four Poke Balls, "Okay, all of you except Bronzong and Floatzel should go in your Poke Balls for the trip. Even you, Riolu. I don't want Floatzel to exhert himself anymore than he has to."

All the Pokemon nodded and Harry recalled them one by one until only Floatzel and Bronzong remained. Then he took off most of his clothes and put them in his backpack. It felt quite heavy but he needed it so he put it on his now bare back. Floatzel jumped into the sea and inflated his sac until it was big enough for Harry to ride. Harry climbed onto Floatzel's back.

"Are you sure about this?" he said, "I'm not sure how long this trip will take. You'll probably exhaust yourself."

"Floatzel," Floatzel replied, smiling at him reassuringly.

"Okay," Harry said, "Don't go too fast. We need Bronzong to be able to keep up to maintain Light Screen and Safeguard." Floatzel nodded and Harry looked at Bronzong, levitating above the water beside him, "Okay let's go." Floatzel began to carry him across the ocean with Bronzong floating alongside them.


	66. Ash's Other Pokemon

Harry was soaked to the bone and Floatzel was exhausted when they reached Lily of the Valley Island. Bronzong was okay, although it had a four scratches on its metal surface from where a Gyarados had bitten it. Once they arrived on the beach, still a mile away from the four stadiums in which the tournament would take place, Floatzel flopped onto the sand in exhaustion. Harry climbed off him and knelt beside him.

"Thanks Floatzel," he said, "You deserve a long rest." He recalled Floatzel and looked up at Bronzong, "Thanks to you too, Bronzong. Well done on fending off that Gyarados."

"Zong," Bronzong bobbed up and down in a nod. Harry recalled him, took his clothes out of his backpack and got dressed again. Then he looked up at the currently unlit torch which was visible even though the stadium was a mile away. Although the torch itself was unlit, the sun was rising right behind it so that it almost looked like the flame. Harry strode towards the stadium.

* * *

When Harry reached the stadium he found that there were hotels built around it as well as a Pokemon Center. A few trainers were outside with their Pokemon. Harry caught a glimpse of Paul with his Gliscor and Breloom. Paul didn't notice him as he headed towards the Pokemon Center.

"Good morning," said Nurse Joy as Harry entered, then noticed that he was still wet, "Oh… I don't mean to seem rude but… you look like you've come through the sea."

"I have," Harry said, "My Floatzel's exhausted."

"Your Floatzel carried you all the way here?" Nurse Joy said in astonishment. Harry nodded, "It must be very strong."

"He is," Harry said, "But he needs a place to rest and I'm not sure if a Poke Ball will cut it."

"Of course," Nurse Joy said, "I'll check his condition."

"Thank you," Harry said.

* * *

After Floatzel recovered from the exhausting trip, Harry went to find his friends with Riolu by his side. There were many more trainers outside now. Harry didn't really want to ask anyone for directions so he just wandered around.

"Pikachu, Light Screen!" called Ash and Harry hurried towards the voice. He found Ash with Dawn and Brock and a Haunter who had hurled a Shadow Ball at Pikachu. Pikachu created a Light Screen which successfully absorbed the attack, "Good job."

"Pika," Pikachu smiled then Haunter suddenly appeared in front of him. Pikachu sweatdropped but having known Haunter ever since Ash was ten, he was used to him popping up out of nowhere by now.

"Guys!" Harry called and the group turned.

"Harry!" Dawn ran forwards and hugged him, which surprised Harry.

"How did you get here?" Ash said.

"Floatzel carried me," Harry said, "It was Gabite's idea."

"How is Gabite?" asked Brock.

"Nurse Joy said he shouldn't fight for a couple of days," Harry said, "I hope I can use him in the tournament at some point though."

"Let me have a look," Brock said and Harry let Gabite out. Brock examined the Cave Pokemon carefully, "He won't be able to fight in the preliminaries but I think he'll be okay in the three on three battles."

"The preliminaries start tomorrow right?" asked Harry.

"Yeah," Ash said, then his eyes widened "Have you registered yet?"

"No," Harry said.

"If you don't register before lunch time, you aren't allowed into the tournament," Ash said, "Follow me!" He recalled Haunter and hurried towards the registration office with Pikachu on his shoulder. Harry and Riolu sprinted after him.

* * *

After Ash helped Harry get signed in, the pair returned to Brock and Dawn. The pair were eating hot dogs when they got back.

"By the way Ash, I didn't know you had a Haunter," Harry said.

"I've got a lot of Pokemon you don't know about," Ash said, "Here are some of them." He sent out the Pokemon he had summoned from Professor Oak's lab.

"A Haunter, Primeape, Lapras, Pidgeot and Larvitar," Harry said.

"Yep," Ash said, "I found Haunter in Lavender Town but didn't catch him until after he helped me beat a Gym Leader called Sabrina. That was the only time I used a Pokémon that wasn't actually mine at the time in a Gym battle. Primeape became a P1 Champion," he gestured to the belt Primeape was wearing and Primeape punched said belt proudly, "then I nearly gave him away which would have been stupid. I took Lapras back to her family, then we met again in Johto and Lapras decided to rejoin the team. Same thing happened with Pidgeot in Kanto, although I didn't get him back until after the Silver Conference. And Larvitar…" he paused and looked at Larvitar who nodded, "Larvitar's mother was killed before he even hatched."

"Poor Larvitar," Harry said sadly. Riolu went over to the Pokemon and greeted each one in turn. Haunter disappeared and then reappeared behind him, making him jump.

"Stop it, Haunter," Ash said. Haunter chuckled and floated back.

"So who are your other Pokemon?" Harry asked.

"I'll call Professor Oak and show you," Ash said, recalling all his Pokemon except Pikachu before hurrying towards the Pokemon Centre.

* * *

Poor Professor Oak had to keep swapping Ash's Pokemon for the rest of the day so that Harry and Dawn could meet all of them. The only one Harry and Dawn hadn't met was Charizard.

"That's the last one," said Professor Oak when Ash spoke to him over a phone connected to a computer screen, "You're keeping that team with you until tomorrow Ash. I need some rest."

"Thanks Professor," Ash said, "Sorry." Professor Oak waved away his apology.

"Don't worry about it," he said, "Just please don't call me again until tomorrow." He switched off the monitor and Ash returned to his friends. Along with Pikachu he now had Quilava, Corphish, Wartortle, Bulbasaur and Muk. While Riolu greeted Quilava, Corphish, Wartortle and Bulbasaur, Muk smothered Harry.

"Sorry," Ash said, "Muk's always like that. It's weird considering how aggressive he was when I caught him."

"How did you get so many Starter Pokemon?" Harry asked struggling to get Muk's slimy body off him.

"Just got lucky," Ash shrugged, "Wartortle was part of the Squirtle Squad until he evolved while I was battling Brandon. Quilava evolved when he was battling Anabel's Metagross. Corphish hasn't shown any interest in evolving and Bulbasaur doesn't like Venusaur, although he seems okay with Ivysaur."

"Come to think of it, Bulbasaur hasn't met May's Venusaur since she evolved," asked Brock, "Maybe he'd feel differently now that his girlfriend's reached her final evolution stage."

"Bulba," said Bulbasaur, looking uncomfortable.

"Never mind about that," Ash said noticing Bulbasaur's discomfort. Harry then noticed a shadowy figure passing by.

"Tobias!" he called. Tobias glanced over at him, nodded and raised a hand in greeting but didn't say anything.

"So that's him," Brock said. Harry nodded.

"He's as strong as Brandon," he said, "Almost certainly the strongest trainer here."

"Or maybe not," Dawn said as a tall, slim blonde woman came towards them.

"Cynthia?" said Ash, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm going to be watching," Cynthia said, "I came to wish you luck. You too, Harry."

"Thanks," Harry said.

"Cynthia," said another voice and Cynthia turned and smiled politely when she saw Paul.

"Hello Paul," she said.

"I intend to face you in the Champion League soon," Paul said and his eyes flicked to Ash and Harry.

"Paul do you know about Tobias?" asked Harry.

"Who?" Paul asked.

"I'll take that as a no," Harry muttered, "He's got a Darkrai, Latias and Latios." Paul looked unimpressed.

"Big deal," he said, "Brandon's got Legendary Pokemon too. Frankly, I think Legendary Pokemon's reputations are exaggerated."

"That may be true in the case of some Legendaries," Cynthia said, "But Harry, Dawn, Ash, Brock and I have met Legendaries who are just as powerful as the legends claim. Don't underestimate them."

"Yeah, you made that mistake when Brandon wiped the floor with you," Harry taunted.

"Harry," snapped Cynthia sternly. Paul scowled at Harry, then turned and stalked away. Cynthia frowned, "You've still got some maturing to do." She swept gracefully away towards a group of fans who had formed nearby. Some were trainers but most were people who had come to watch the tournament.

* * *

The preliminary rounds were one-on-one battles which took place before the torch of Moltres was lit. Harry and his friends watched Tobias' Darkrai defeat a Gengar by shrugging off its Shadow Ball and defeating it with a single Dark Pulse.

"That guy must have mistaken Darkrai for a Ghost type," Harry told the others. Tobias nodded approvingly to Darkrai before recalling it and leaving the battlefield without a word, giving no sign that he'd noticed the group watch his battle.

"Hey who's that guy!" called Barry, nearly colliding with Harry in his hurry.

"That's Tobias," Harry told him, "I met him once before. He's quite reserved but seems to be a nice guy."

"Although he caused Volkner to go into depression for a while when he wiped out all of his Pokemon with just Darkrai," Brock added.

"Well Ash, I came to tell you you'd better get to your preliminary battle," Barry said. Ash nodded and the group went to the battlefield on which his one-on-one battle would take place. He was facing a young girl, probably only slightly older than Harry, who looked very nervous.

"Go Wigglytuff!" she called and sent out a rather fat pink Pokemon with a curly tuft of pink fur on its head and very wide eyes. Harry took out his pokedex.

" _Wigglytuff the Balloon Pokémon and evolved form of Jigglypuff. When angered, it will suck in air and inflate itself to an enormous size._ _This also gives it the ability to float in the air._ "

"Pikachu you're up," Ash said and Pikachu nodded and sprang forwards.

"Wigglytuff, Hyper Voice!" called the girl and Wigglytuff yelled loudly sending sound waves washing over Pikachu.

"Light Screen!" Ash called and Pikachu set up Light Screen, limiting the damage but failing to keep out the noise.

"Body Slam!" called the girl and Wigglytuff inflated its body and leapt into the air before descending and landing on top of Pikachu.

"Thunder!" Ash called and Pikachu unleashed a huge Thunder attack while Wigglytuff was still on top of him. Wigglytuff screamed in pain and rolled off him, unconscious.

"Wigglytuff is unable to battle, Pikachu wins!"

"No," said the girl softly then hurried to her Wigglytuff's side. Ash went over to Pikachu and patted his head.

"Good job buddy," he said.

Paul's battle was next. He had chosen his Gliscor while his opponent sent out Fearow.

"Drill Peck!" ordered the man, who had to be in his early twenties. Fearow's beak spun like a drill as it lunged at Gliscor.

"Dodge then Guillotine," Paul said lazily and Gliscor waited until Fearow was close, before shifting to the side and clamping its glowing claw onto Fearow's neck. Gliscor then smashed Fearow into the ground, knocking it out with one hit.

"Fearow's unable to battle, Gliscor wins!"

Barry was next. Harry's battle was scheduled on another battlefield five minutes later so he hoped Barry would finish the battle quickly.

"Let's get going, Empoleon!" cried Barry, sending out the Emperor Pokemon.

"Go Hitmonchan!" cried his opponent and a Pokemon that looked like a boxer appeared, complete with red glove-like fists.

" _Hitmonchan the Punching Pokémon and an evolved form of Tyrogue. He can launch incredibly fast and powerful punches which are capable of pulverising concrete._ "

"Empoleon use Flash Cannon!" called Barry and Empoleon opened his beak and formed a silver orb.

"Mach Punch!" called his opponent and unlike Monferno and Infernape, Hitmonchan's Mach Punch consisted of him actually shooting a second boxing glove out from his real glove, somewhat like a Shadow Punch but faster. The attack hit Empoleon before he could fire Flash Cannon and knocked him back. Empoleon returned fire with a beam of silver energy. Hitmonchan crossed his gloves and was pushed back, then quite simply punched away the Steel type move.

"Drill Peck!" Barry ordered and Empoleon spun forwards with his beak glowing white.

"Counter!" said his opponent and Hitmonchan glowed red and sent Empoleon flying backwards, "Mach Punch!" Another giant boxing glove slammed into Empoleon and knocked him into the wall.

"Empoleon!" cried Barry and Empoleon glowed blue as Torrent activated, "Alright use Hydro Cannon!"

"Mach Punch!" ordered his opponent.

"Jump," Barry ordered and Empoleon jumped over the boxing glove at the last moment before firing a huge cannon ball of water from his beak, blasting Hitmonchan into the wall.

"Hitmonchan is unable to battle, Empoleon wins!"

"Barry struggled a bit there," Harry noted, "It's only the preliminaries."

"Speaking of which, you've got to get to your battle," Brock reminded him.

Harry went to his battlefield and faced an experienced looking man. The man saw Riolu standing beside him and smirked.

"Go Hitmontop!" he cried and a Pokemon that resembled a spinning top with two legs, although its tail could be mistaken for a third leg, appeared. Harry took out his Pokedex, which slightly annoyed his opponent.

" _Hitmontop the Handstand Pokémon and an evolved form of Tyrogue. His technique of kicking while spinning on his head is a remarkable mix of both offense and defense_."

"Riolu take your position," Harry said and Riolu nodded and bounded forwards, "Double Aura Sphere!" Riolu formed an Aura Sphere in front of both palms, hurled the right one first then spun around and hurled the left. Both Aura Sphere's smashed into Hitmontop, sending him flying.

"Aerial Ace!" ordered the man and Hitmontop landed on his feet and shot forwards, surrounding himself with white streaks and slamming into Riolu so hard that he flew into the wall.

"Riolu!" Harry cried.

"You know what the best part is?" said the man, "Technician makes Aerial Ace even stronger!"

"Riolu use Quick Attack!" Harry shouted and Riolu shot forwards and smashed into Hitmontop, catching the other Fighting type by surprise.

"Triple Kick!" ordered the man and Hitmontop jumped onto his head and started spinning. Harry had never seen this move before so he wasn't quite sure what to expect but fortunately Riolu managed to avoid Hitmontop's feet when they lashed out of his spinning form, only to get hit by the small, circular "foot" on his tail. Riolu was knocked off his feet but rolled over and used the momentum to land on his feet, wincing slightly.

"Force Palm!" Harry shouted and Riolu leapt towards Hitmontop, who stopped spinning and sprang back onto his feet, only to receive a Force Palm right in the face which exploded and sent him flying.

"Your Riolu's been well trained kid," said the man, "But so has Hitmontop! Quick Attack!"

"Use Quick Attack to dodge!" Harry countered as Hitmontop darted forwards. Riolu quickly darted away, "Double Aura Sphere!"

"Knock them away with Triple Kick!" ordered the man and Hitmontop sprang onto his head once more and spun as two Aura Sphere's came flying towards him. One foot lashed out and kicked one Aura Sphere off to the side where it exploded harmlessly, followed by the other foot which knocked the second Aura Sphere away too. Hitmontop was too far away from Riolu to use his tail so he simply sprang onto his feet.

"Quick Attack!" Harry shouted and Riolu darted towards Hitmontop.

"You too!" ordered the man and Hitmontop shot forwards and intercepted Riolu, overpowering him thanks to the extra boost he gained from Technician.

"Hang in there!" Harry called, "Force Palm!" Riolu slammed another Force Palm into Hitmontop and blasted him away. Hitmontop landed on his head but since his species often battled whilst spinning on their heads, he simply sprang back onto his feet.

"Hitmontop finish it with Aerial Ace!" shouted the trainer. Hitmontop surrounded himself with white streaks but then faltered. Harry realized that Riolu's Force Palm had paralyzed him which was very lucky because Riolu was in no shape to take another Technician boosted Aerial Ace.

"Aura Sphere full power!" Harry shouted and this time Riolu only formed one Aura Sphere but it was bigger that the two separate Aura Spheres and hurled it at Hitmontop, blasting it away before it could deflect the attack. This time Hitmontop didn't get up. Both Harry and Riolu simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hitmontop is unable to battle, Riolu wins," cried the referee, "The victory goes to Harry Rowan!"

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" cried the commentator, "Now that the preliminary rounds are out of the way, it is time to light the torch and signify the true beginning of the Pokemon League!"

Nobody knew who the torchrunner was and most didn't care, being more interested in the flame itself, which was said to come from the wings of the Legendary Pokemon Moltres. The crowd cheered as the flame roared into life.

Below the flame in the main stadium, which wouldn't be used until the six-on-six battles taking place among the final eight competetors, all the trainers stood watching the flame. Harry looked around and saw Tobias, Paul and Barry. Then he caught a glimpse of Barry's weird partner from the tag battle tournament, Conway and the odd man who liked both contests and battles, Nando. Finally Harry caught sight of a young woman and did a double take as he recognized her as Brock's partner, Holly. She had left him without even saying goodbye after they lost the tag battle competition and Brock had been devastated.

* * *

Once the introduction ceremony was over, the trainers and the crowd filed out of the stadium and went to their hotel rooms to rest.

"Hey Brock," Harry said as they got ready for bed, "Holly's here."

"Holly?" said Brock in astonishment, "My partner from the tag battle competition?"

"The very same," Harry said, "This could be your second chance with her."

"I dunno," muttered Ash, "She just abandoned you last time."

"Yeah but that was because she felt she'd failed me as a tag battle partner," Brock pointed out, "Thanks for telling me, Harry. I'll look for her tomorrow."


	67. The Sinnoh League Part 1

Brock and Harry found Holly training with her Pelipper and Probopass. Pelipper had just used Protect to block Zap Cannon after Probopass used Lock On, simulatniously disabling Lock On's effect.

"Holly!" Brock called and Holly looked up. Harry and Riolu stayed back as Brock rushed over to her, "It's so good to see you again."

"Hi Brock," Holly said flushing, "I didn't know you'd be here."

"I didn't know you'd be here either," Brock said, "I missed you."

"I'm sorry I left," Holly said, "I just thought I wasn't good enough for you."

"Are you kidding?" Brock said, "Holly the fact that you actually liked me made you more than good enough for me. When you left I was devastated."

"I'm sorry," Holly said again, "I actually rather missed you as well. But right now I need to focus on the tournament."

"Of course," Brock said and for once he backed off without Croagunk appearing to drag him away. For the first time Holly noticed Harry and Riolu. She waved to them a little awkwardly and they waved back as Brock joined them.

"Croagunk didn't come out," Harry said.

"Well I think there could actually be something special between me and Holly," Brock said, "She said she didn't feel good enough for me but I felt the same way about her. That's why I tried a different approach this time."

"I have very limited knowledge of romance," Harry admitted, "But it seems that this approach works better than your usual ones."

* * *

"Heatran use Magma Storm!"

"Dodge it Darkrai and use Focus Blast!"

"Counter with Flash Cannon!"

Tobias had already defeated two of his opponents Pokemon but then the young man revealed his own Legendary Pokemon, Heatran. Darkrai had no trouble wiping out the first two Pokemon, Marowak and Blastoise but Heatran was made of sterner stuff. Flash Cannon and Focus Blast proved evenly matched and there was an explosion.

Harry, Ash, Dawn and Brock watched from the stands. During the three on three battles, of which there were three rounds, Pokemon would have to battle on either a grass, rock, water or ice battlefield. Tobias and his opponent were on a rocky battlefield.

"Tobias is an amazing trainer," muttered Ash as Darkrai put Heatran to sleep with Dark Void, then blasted it twice with Focus Blast, wearing it down rapidly. Only Harry had first hand knowledge of Darkrai's battling capabilities. Ash was watching to get ideas on how to defeat it when – not if but _when_ – he faced it in the tournament.

"This kid may have a Heatran but Tobias is in a whole different league," Brock agreed.

"Maybe not," Dawn said as Heatran woke up while Darkrai was forming another Focus Blast.

"Heatran Protect!" cried Heatran's trainer and the Legendary Pokemon formed a barrier around itself to block what would have been the finishing blow, "Magma Storm!"

"Heatran!" roared Heatran and shot a huge swirling storm of fire, much stronger than any Fire Spin, which whirled around Darkrai so that it almost seemed like it was surrounded by lava. Darkrai bellowed with pain, having only grunted up until now since none of Blastoise or Marowak's attacks had done much damage.

"Iron Head!" ordered the young man and Heatran thundered forwards becoming surrounded by silver light. It leapt straight into the Magma Storm and smashed into Darkrai.

"Dark Pulse!" bellowed Tobias and Darkrai blasted Heatran away with a Dark Pulse fired at point blank range. Heatran crashed to the ground, "Now use Focus Blast!"

"Overheat!" cried the opponent but Heatran had flinched from the close range Dark Pulse. Focus Blast exploded against him and knocked him out. As soon as he was unconscious, Magma Storm faded and Darkrai descended, burned and exhausted but triumphant. Even Tobias had seemed slightly less relaxed than usual, at least until Heatran was defeated as it had actually been a fairly difficult opponent.

"Heatran is unable to battle, Darkrai wins and the victory goes to Tobias!"

The crowd cheered. Tobias and Darkrai crossed over to the young man to congratulate him and his Heatran.

"Blimey," Harry muttered, "That Darkrai is badass. I think it's gotten even stronger since Tobias battled Brandon."

"Uh oh!" Ash said suddenly, "I've got my battle with Nando in two minutes!" The group sprinted out of the stadium and went towards one of the other stadiums where Nando would be waiting.

* * *

When they arrived, they discovered that Ash would be battling Nando on a grassy battlefield, which seemed to suit Nando's personality quite well.

"This will be a three on three battle and both trainers may substitute when they desire," said the referee although nobody was paying attention to him as they were eager to get to the actual battle, "Begin!"

"Roserade, lets go!" cried Nando and Roserade appeared.

"Pidgeot, I choose you!" Ash cried, sending out the first bird he had ever caught.

"Roserade use Sunny Day!" called Nando and Roserade shot two beams from its flowers, causing the sunlight above to grow brighter.

"Aerial Ace!" Ash called and Pidgeot circled through the air and dived, surrounding himself with white streaks before he slammed into Roserade, throwing it into the air.

"Solarbeam!" called Nando and like it had during the Grand Festival, Roserade fired two Solarbeams simultaneously, one from each flower.

"Quick Attack!" ordered Ash and Pidgeot shot forwards, avoiding both of the swiftly fired Solarbeams with even swifter reflexes before slamming into the Bouquet Pokemon.

"Pidgeot's too fast," Nando muttered, "Roserade, Magical Leaf!" Roserade spun and sent the unavoidable Magical Leaf which knocked Pidgeot backwards, injuring him for the first time but doing little damage.

"Pidgeot, Sky Attack!" Ash ordered and Pidgeot glowed white and dived.

"Roserade return!" said Nando, knowing Roserade was vastly outmatched. The Bouquet Pokemon returned to the safety of its Poke Ball and Pidgeot ascended back into the air, his Sky Attack fading. He squarked in mild irritation, "Armaldo you're next!" A lot of people were surprised by the Pokemon that appeared next, as it was supposed to be extinct. Dawn took out her pokedex.

" _Armaldo the Plate Pokémon and evolved form of Anorith. Its body is covered with a sturdy shell and it uses its sharp claws to skewer its prey._ "

"Wonder where Nando found a Claw Fossil?" Harry said.

"Pidgeot, Steel Wing!" ordered Ash and Pidgeot flew swiftly towards Armaldo and his wings turned to steel.

"Protect!" called Nando and Armaldo protected itselt with a green sphere. Pidgeot slammed one of his wings into the sphere but it bounced off harmlessly, "Crush Claw!" Armaldo's claws glowed white and it slashed Pidgeot knocking him backwards. Pidgeot quickly regained his balance.

"Aerial Ace!" Ash called and Pidgeot circled through the air and dived, surrounded by white streaks.

"Protect!" Nando called again and another green sphere blocked Aerial Ace.

"Steel Wing!"

"Use Crush Claw!"

Wing and claw collided but Pidgeot needed both wings to maintain his balance in the air. Armaldo's other claw shot forwards and due to one wing holding off Armaldo's other claw, Pidgeot couldn't regain his balance in time to avoid it.

"Geot!" Pidgeot squarked as Crush Claw slashed him across the chest and knocked him backwards.

"Pidgeot, Sand Attack!" Ash called and Pidgeot used his wings to whip up sand which went into Armaldo's eyes, "Alright now use Sky Attack!"

"Armaldo, Giga Impact!" cried Nando, realizing that it was all or nothing now. Armaldo couldn't see properly with sand in its eyes but Sky Attack emitted a bright glow, so Armaldo simply pointed its body towards the glow and a purple and yellow cocoon surrounded it. Pidgeot and Armaldo collided and the resulting explosion knocked them both out.

"Pidgeot and Armaldo are both unable to battle!"

"Great job Pidgeot, get some rest," Ash said.

"Thank you for not allowing that Sand Attack to stop you, Armaldo," said Nando, "Roserade let's go!" The Bouquet Pokemon reappeared, still a bit worn out from its battle with Pidgeot.

"Quilava, I choose you!" Ash said and the evolved form of Cyndaquil emerged, "Eruption!" Quilava's head and bottom flared and it fired a huge Eruption from the flames on its head. Nando didn't even have time to call out an attack before the attack knocked out Roserade.

"Roserade is unable to battle, Quilava wins!"

"That was fast," Harry commented.

"I've never seen Eruption before," Dawn muttered.

"It's an attack that's more powerful when a Pokemon's at full strength," Brock told her, "And of course Roserade was already tired and had a type disadvantage."

"At least Sunny Day's worn off," Harry said.

"Roserade, return and take a rest," said Nando, "Kricketune, let's go!" His Kricketune emerged and pointed one of its scythes angrily at Quilava.

"Quilava, Eruption!" ordered Ash and Quilava fired a second Eruption but this time, Nando was ready.

"Dodge it and use Sing!" he ordered and Kricketune darted into the air, safely above the flames and rubbed its claws together, creating a musical melody and causing musical notes to emerge from its body. As soon as the notes touched Quilava, he fell asleep, "Now use Swords Dance!"

"Tune!" Kricketune sang, its scythes glowing purple before it spun on the spot to gain power. Quilava was blissfully unaware of the power boost.

"Quilava, wake up!" Ash yelled.

"Once more, Kricketune!" Nando ordered and Kricketune powered up even more. Quilava was still asleep.

"Come on, Quilava!" Ash cried, "Wake up before it attacks!" Quilava twitched and blearily opened his eyes.

"Night Slash!" ordered Nando and Kricketune's scythes were surrounded by black light which grew much thicker and more intense than it normally would. Kricketune lunged forwards as Quilava was getting up and slashed him before he could fully recover from Sing. Night Slash had gained so much power from the two Swords Dances that it knocked out Quilava in one hit.

"Quilava is unable to battle, Kricketune wins!"

"Sing and Swords Dance makes Kricketune deadly," Harry noted. Brock and Dawn nodded.

"Quilava, you get a good rest," Ash said, "Go Noctowl!" A Pokemon that resembled an owl that shone with golden sparkles when he emerged from the Poke Ball appeared. Harry was a bit jealous about the fact that Ash had caught a Shiny Pokemon.

"Kricketune, let's finish this quickly with Night Slash!" ordered Nando and Kricketune flew towards Noctowl with both claws glowing.

"Reflect!" ordered Ash and Noctowl created a blue barrier but even with Reflect, the Night Slash was powerful enough to knock him backwards, "Use Air Slash!" Noctowl created a blade of air between his wings and threw it at Kricketune, sending the Cricket Pokemon crashing to the ground when the attack connected.

"Kricketune use Sing!" yelled Nando and Kricketune picked itself up and started to play musical notes again. Ash smirked.

"Sky Attack!" he ordered and like Pidgeot, Noctowl was surrounded by white light as he dived at Kricketune. The musical notes from Sing landed on him but had no effect at all. Nando's eyes widened as he realized why Sing wasn't working.

"No, not Insomnia!" he cried. Then Noctowl slammed into Kricketune and sent it flying into the stadium wall, "Kricketune!"

"Kricketune is unable to battle, Noctowl wins. This victory goes to Ash Ketchum!"

* * *

Following Ash's victory, he, Harry, Brock and Dawn went to another battlefield to watch Paul's battle with Barry. Fortunately Harry was scheduled to battle on the same battlefield after Barry and Paul's battle was over, so he didn't need to worry about being late. Barry and Paul were going to be battling on a rocky battlefield.

"Skarmory, let's get going!" cried Barry and released the bird made out of steel. Harry took out his pokedex.

" _Skarmory the Armor Bird Pokémon. Its sturdy wings look heavy, but they are actually hollow and light, allowing it to fly freely in the sky._ "

"Magmortar, stand by for battle!" Paul said releasing his bulky Magmortar.

"Skarmory use Spikes!" called Barry and Skarmory spun in the air, releasing red spikes which disappeared into the ground on Magmortar's side of the battlefield.

"Flamethrower!" Paul ordered and Magmortar unleashed a mighty Flamethrower from its cannons, causing Skarmory to shriek in pain. When the Flamethrower ended however, Skarmory was still hovering.

"Sturdy," Barry explained simply. Paul rolled his eyes.

"I know that," he said coldly.

"Skarmory use Aerial Ace!" called Barry and Skarmory circled through the air and slammed into Magmortar causing it to stumble back.

Then Skarmory caught fire and fainted.

"Flame Body," Paul said smugly as Barry recalled Skarmory.

"Thanks Skarmory, you did what I needed you to do," he said, "Empoleon let's get going!" The Emperor Pokemon appeared.

"Magmortar return," Paul said and recalled Magmortar before sending out his next Pokemon, "Ursaring, stand by for battle!" The mighty bear like Pokemon emerged and immediately there was a small explosion under its feet, causing it to wince, "Bulk Up!"

"Riiiing!" roared Ursaring and clenched its fist, tensed its muscles and glowed red to increase both its Attack and Defence.

"Empoleon return," Barry said, "Hitmonlee let's get going!" A Fighting type with long, powerful legs appeared.

" _Hitmonlee the Kicking Pokémon and an evolved form of Tyrogue. He can extend and retract his legs to kick opponents from across long distances._ "

"Bulk Up again!" ordered Paul and Ursaring increased its Attack and Defence once more.

"Mega Kick!" ordered Barry and Hitmonlee's foot glowed blue and he slammed it into Ursaring, causing it to stumble back but doing little more than annoy the Hibernator Pokemon.

"Hammer Arm!" ordered Paul and Ursaring's powerful arm glowed white as it brought it crashing down on Hitmonlee. Or it would have done if Hitmonlee had not jumped onto a nearby rock at the last second.

"Ursaring may be strong but Hitmonlee's faster," Barry bragged.

"We'll see about that," Paul retorted, "Hammer Arm on the boulder!" Ursaring shattered the boulder as though it was glass with a single punch, causing Hitmonlee to fall right in front of it, "Now use Slash!"

"Dodge then Close Combat!" cried Barry and Hitmonlee narrowly avoided Ursaring's sharp claws before pounding the Hibernator with a flurry of powerful kicks and even a couple of chops from his three fingered hands.

"Hammer Arm!" Paul ordered and Ursaring smashed a Hammer Arm into Hitmonlee, sending it flying.

"Hang in there and use Mega Kick!" cried Barry and Hitmonlee backflipped and landed on a rock before leaping and aiming his blue foot at Ursaring.

"Dodge it!" ordered Paul and Ursaring stepped backwards but Barry smirked when it did so.

"Hi Jump Kick!" he ordered and Hitmonlee rapidly switched from using his left foot to his right knee which smashed into Ursaring's chest, directly in the center of the yellow circle on its fur.

"Barry was expecting Mega Kick to miss so he had Hi Jump Kick planned as backup," Ash noted.

"Ursaring use Focus Blast!" ordered Paul and Ursaring formed a blue orb of Aura and hurled it at Hitmonlee.

"Dodge and use Blaze Kick!" ordered Barry and Hitmonlee leapt over the Focus Blast and his right foot burst into flame. He kicked Ursaring with the flaming foot hard and Ursaring crashed into a rock, "Alright Hi Jump Kick!" Hitmonlee aimed his knee towards Ursaring.

"Dodge it!" called Paul and Ursaring stepped aside, causing Hitmonlee to smash his knee into the rock, "Looks like you were wrong about Hitmonlee's speed. Focus Blast!" Ursaring created another Focus Blast and hurled it at Hitmonlee, blasting him off the battlefield and into the wall.

"Hitmonlee is unable to battle, Ursaring wins!"

"Man Ursaring's strong," Barry said, "But we can still win Empoleon. Let's get going!" The Emperor Pokemon reappeared. By now Ursaring was breathing hard; despite using Bulk Up twice the damage it had taken had exhausted it. However Paul didn't want to waste the Bulk Up boosts so he didn't recall it.

"Use Hammer Arm!" Paul ordered and Ursaring charged at Empoleon, who didn't have a chance against its brute strength if they engaged in physical combat.

"Dodge and use Flash Cannon!" cried Barry and Empoleon leapt away from Ursaring with surprising speed before firing the silver beam from its beak, knocking out Ursaring who was too exhausted to dodge or endure it.

"Ursaring is unable to battle, Empoleon wins."

Paul shrugged dismissively as he recalled Ursaring and took out another Poke Ball. He threw it and yelled, "Electivire, stand by for battle!"

"Uh oh," muttered Ash as Electivire appeared. Spikes exploded beneath its feet and Electivire winced.

"Not only will Electivire be stronger than ever but it's an Electric type too," Brock said grimly.

"Electivire use Thunder!" ordered Paul and Electivire launched a Thunder that made Electabuzz's Thunder look like Thunderbolt and Elekid's Thunder look like Thundershock.

"Flash Cannon!" Barry ordered and to Empoleon's credit, Flash Cannon proved just as powerful when it collided with Thunder, creating an explosion, "Now use Drill Peck!" Empoleon spun forwards with its beak glowing white.

"Giga Impact!" Paul ordered and Electivire charged straight towards Empoleon surrounding himself with a cocoon of energy and overwhelming the Emperor Pokemon's Drill Peck, sending him sprawling.

"When it comes to Special Attacks they're even but Electivire's Physical Attack power is superior," Brock said.

"Yeah but now Electivire has to recharge," Ash pointed out.

"Empoleon Drill Peck again!" ordered Barry and Empoleon rammed into Electivire with a spinning Drill Peck, "Now use Metal Claw!" Empoleon used one of its wings to slash Electivire but the Electric type quickly recovered and smirked, unimpressed by Empoleon's attacks.

"Electivire, Thunder Punch!" Paul ordered and Electivire slammed an electrified fist into Empoleon, sending it skidding backwards.

"Empoleon, Metal Claw!" ordered Barry and Empoleon's wings glowed white and hardened as it lunged.

"Brick Break!" called Paul and Electivire slammed a karate chop onto Empoleon's claws. While Electivire was only using one hand, Empoleon was forced to cross both of its wings in front of its body in order to protect itself, "Thunder Punch!"

"Vire," Electivire said smugly and used his free hand to slam a Thunder Punch uppercut into Empoleon's belly, causing it to double over in pain. Electivire looked at the Water type contemptuously. This was Barry's strongest Pokemon but Electivire was just toying with it.

"Brick Break," Paul said, also growing bored. Electivire slammed a Brick Break onto Empoleon's head and it fell to the ground, "This is the best your Empoleon can do? Even for a Water type that's pathetic."

"Don't you dare say that about my Pokemon!" Barry yelled, "Come on Empoleon, don't let that Electivire push you around!"

"Giga Impact," Paul said, not even bothering to raise his voice. Electivire smirked and surrounded himself with more energy before sending Empoleon flying across the battlefield.

"Empoleon!" screamed Barry.

"EMPOLEON!" boomed Empoleon and a blue glow surrounded its entire body. For the first time, Electivire's confidence was shaken just a little. It was still recharging from Giga Impact, which meant he wouldn't be able to use Protect or Light Screen to defend himself from Empoleon's next attack.

"Hydro Cannon!" Barry yelled and Empoleon shot the most powerful Hydro Cannon it had ever used. The huge ball of water smashed into Electivire with as much force as an actual cannonball. If used on a human the water pressure would have smashed their bones. It would also render most Pokemon that weren't resistant or immune to Water type moves unconscious.

But Paul's Electivire wasn't most Pokemon.

Electivire heaved himself upright, clutching his chest where the Hydro Cannon had landed. Empoleon and Barry's eyes widened in shock as the Thunderbolt Pokemon glared at Empoleon. For the first time, Electivire was taking this battle seriously.

"It took a Torrent boosted Hydro Cannon!" gasped Harry.

"Electivire's endurance has been built up to an incredible degree!" Brock said, equally shocked.

"Yeah and it didn't even use Light Screen!" Dawn added. Ash was silent as he watched Electivire, remembering how tough he had been even before he reached his final evolution.

"That was a powerful Hydro Cannon," Paul admitted, "But this is where it ends. Electivire one last Giga Impact!" Electivire charged forwards and this time, Empoleon's Steel type characteristics were unable to save it due to its condition. The Emperor Pokemon was sent crashing into the wall. Satisfied, Electivire allowed himself to drop onto his hands and knees, exhausted.

"No, Empoleon!" cried Barry.

"Empoleon is unable to battle, Electivire wins which means the victory goes to Paul!"

"Let's face it, Barry never really had a chance against Paul," Ash muttered, "He was lucky to take out Ursaring."

"I need to get down there for my battle," Harry said, "Excuse me."

* * *

The battlefield was changed before Harry's battle. He was going to be battling a young woman called Louise and they would be fighting on a grass battlefield. Harry got first choice of Pokemon.

"Vespiquen take your position!" he called and the Beehive Pokemon hovered regally above the grassy battlefield.

"Ninetails let's go!" cried Louise and a beautiful fox like Pokemon with nine tails appeared.

" _Ninetails the Fox Pokemon and the evolved form of Vulpix. It is a smart and vengeful Pokémon that is believed to be capable of living for 1000 years_."

"Blimey that's a long lifespan," Harry muttered as he put away the Pokedex.

"Ninetails use Fire Spin!" cried Louise and Ninetails fired a spiral of flames which twisted around Vespiquen. The Beehive Pokémon winced and flapped her wings a tiny bit harder than usual but those were the only signs she gave of being in pain.

"Blow it away with Gust!" Harry ordered and Vespiquen flapped her wings as hard as she could and blew the Fire Spin away, "Now use Slash!" Vespiquen lunged towards Ninetails and slashed it with her claws, knocking the surprised Fox Pokémon backwards.

"Vespiquen may be able to shrug off Fire Spin but let's see her deal with this! Use Overheat!" cried Louise and Ninetails' cream coloured fur turned an angry orange before it launched a huge stream of fire at Vespiquen. Harry smirked.

"Protect!" Harry ordered and Vespiquen crossed her arms and surrounded her body with a green barrier, rendering Overhead useless, "Now use Power Gem!"

"Vespiquen!" cried Vespiquen as Overheat ended and she allowed Protect to wear off. She raised her arms, forming a huge ball of yellow energy between her claws and hurling it at Ninetails. The resulting explosion sent Ninetails crashing to the ground.

"Ninetails is unable to battle, Vespiquen wins!"

"Wow, Vespiquen's grown really strong," Dawn squealed.

"I can't believe your Vespiquen beat my Ninetails so easily," said Louise as she recalled her Pokémon. Then she threw another Poke Ball, "Go Ampharos!" A yellow, bipedal Pokemon that looked somewhat like a sheared sheep with an orb on its forehead and tail appeared.

" _Ampharos the Light Pokemon and the final form of Mareep. The tail's tip shines brightly and can be seen from far away. It acts as a beacon for lost people_."

"Use Power Gem!" Louise ordered and the gem on Ampharos' head glowed red and expanded to create a huge red ball of energy. Ampharos lowered its head and the Power Gem shot towards Vespiquen, leaving behind Ampharos' actual forehead gem.

"Protect!" called Harry and Vespiquen blocked Power Gem.

"Thunderbolt!" cried Louise and Ampharos shot a powerful electric shock at Vespiquen causing her to shriek in pain.

"Vespiquen, you're tough enough to take that!" Harry encouraged and Vespiquen regained her composure, "Use Power Gem!"

"Quick, Light Screen!" ordered Louise just in time. Vespiquen's orange Power Gem crashed into the yellow screen and Ampharos took one step back but was otherwise undamaged.

"Slash!" ordered Harry and Vespiquen lunged forwards and slashed Ampharos, knocking it backwards.

"Fire Punch!" ordered Louise and Ampharos' fist blazed and it smashed Fire Punch into Vespiquen, knocking her backwards. Vespiquen hunched over in pain. As resilient as she was, these super effective hits were taking their toll.

"Vespiquen use Roost!" Harry called and Vespiquen landed and glowed to restore some of her energy.

"Use Thunderbolt!" cried Louise and Ampharos blasted Vespiquen with Thunderbolt while she was healing. Vespiquen's body jerked slightly in discomfort but she didn't seem too badly hurt.

"While using Roost, Vespiquen loses her Flying type characteristics until the healing is finished," Harry told Louise. Vespiquen completed Roost and hovered back into the air, holding her head up proudly.

"All right then Ampharos, Power Gem!" ordered Louise and Ampharos fired another Power Gem from its forehead.

"Use Power Gem too!" Harry shouted and Vespiquen fired a Power Gem of her own, creating a violent explosion which knocked both Pokémon backwards.

"Thunderbolt!" cried Louise and Ampharos blasting Vespiquen with Thunderbolt as soon as the smoke cleared, this time actually hurting her.

"Vespiquen, Silver Wind!" Harry called and Vespiquen flapped her wings and fired a silvery wind which slammed into Ampharos' Light Screen. The Light Pokémon and its trainer both smirked.

"Don't you know how Light Screen works?" Louise asked. Harry frowned as she gave her next command "Ampharos use Fire Punch!"

"Slash let's go!" Harry ordered and Vespiquen lunged straight towards Ampharos and slashed it just as the Light Pokemon punched her with its flaming fist. Both Pokemon passed each other and there was a short pause.

Suddenly Vespiquen caught fire and gave a screech of pain and surprise. Harry jumped but relaxed when he saw Vespiquen was still hovering.

Then Ampharos fainted.

"Ampharos is unable to battle, Vespiquen wins!"

"Yes I do know how Light Screen works," Harry told Louise, "And it only weakens Special Attacks, it doesn't block them completely."

"Ampharos good job," said Louise as she recalled Ampharos, then looked at Harry, "Your Vespiquen's really strong. Which is why I saved this Pokemon for last! Let's go!" The Poke Ball burst open and one of the last Pokemon Harry was expecting to see in this tournament emerged.

"Combee!"

"Well this is a surprise!" said the commentator, "After having Ninetails and Ampharos overwhelmed by Harry's powerful Vespiquen, Louise has sent out Vespiquen's pre-evolved form Combee!"

"Why would Louise save a Combee for last?" asked Dawn.

"This reminds me of my first Pokemon League," muttered Ash, "Brock, remember when I battled the girl with the Bellsprout?"

"Of course I remember," Brock said, then examined the Combee, "This Combee's male, so he can't evolve. However Louise must have been training hard to make up for that or she wouldn't be using him."

"Vespiquen, let's get this over with," Harry said, "Power Gem!" Vespiquen looked at Combee menacingly as she created a huge ball of orange energy and hurled it at her pre-evolved form.

"Tailwind!" Louise called and Combee created a gust of wind behind him and shot away from the Power Gem so fast that he was almost invisible. A split second later he was right behind Vespiquen, "Air Cutter!"

"Combeeee!" cried Combee flapping his wings and firing blades of air right into his evolved forms back at point blank range. Vespiquen crashed to the ground, unconscious.

"Vespiquen is unable to battle, Combee wins!"

Harry stared at Vespiquen in shock. She was going to be furious that she'd been defeated by a Combee of all Pokemon, although to be fair she had taken a lot of damage before Combee was sent out. He held up Vespiquen's Poke Ball and recalled her saying, "Thanks Vespiquen. You were great. Drifblim, take your position!" Drifblim appeared and floated above the grassy battlefield. "Rapid Fire Shadow Ball!"

"Blim, blim, blim, blim, blim!" cried Driflblim, firing five Shadow Balls in quick succession but Combee dodged all of them easily without even waiting for Louise to tell him to do so.

"Ominous Wind!" called Louise and Combee whipped up purple wind, blowing Drifblim backwards. Combee's Tailwind then wore off.

"Time for a real Ominous Wind!" Harry called and Drifblim spun and summoned a more powerful Ominous Wind.

"Tailwind!" called Louise and Combee's speed increased once more as he darted away from the STAB boosted Ominous Wind, "Now use Air Cutter!"

"Minimize!" Harry shouted as Combee stopped on Drifblim's right and fired blades of wind. Drifblim quickly reduced her size and manoeuvred between the Air Cutter easily, "Acrobatics!" Drifblim returned to her full size and darted forwards, moving fast enough to leave behind an after-image that was only the size she had been when she was using Minimize. Combee was much faster though and dodged it swiftly.

"Ominous Wind!" ordered Louise and this time Combee ascended and blew Drifblim straight into the ground with Ominous Wind and continued using the wind to pin her down as he waited for the stat boosts to kick in. Combee glowed red as his stats increased but at the same moment, Tailwind wore off. "Finish it with Air Cutter!"

"Combee!" cried the Tiny Bee Pokemon and flapped his wings, firing Air Cutter straight down at Drifblim.

"Tailwind then Acrobatics!" Harry yelled and Drifblim managed to blast wind out of her red backside, almost as though she was an actual balloon. The Air Cutter missed and Drifblim left an after-image in the place where she had just been. Combee looked up and Louise opened her mouth to command Tailwind but was a split second too slow. Drifblim smashed into Combee with Acrobatics, gaining even more speed from her Tailwind. Combee crashed to the ground.

"Hang in there Combee!" cried Louise, "Ominous Wind!" Combee hovered back into the air, badly bruised from the Acrobatics but still able to battle. He whipped up a gust of dark wind which sent Drifblim crashing into the wall.

"Drifblim is unable to battle, Combee wins!"

"Whoa," Harry muttered as he took out Drifblim's Poke Ball, "I never expected a Combee to be so powerful. Good work Drifblim, get some rest. Chimchar take your position!" Chimchar burst out of her Poke Ball, somersaulted and landed on the battlefield, "Flamethrower!"

"Chiiiiimchar!" cried Chimchar and fired a Flamethrower at Combee.

"Tailwind then Endeavour!" ordered Louise and Combee manipulated the wind to give him a speed boost and shot away from Flamethrower, before slamming into Chimchar, glowing with blue energy which was transferred onto Chimchar as soon as the Tiny Bee Pokemon made contact with her. Suddenly Chimchar was just as tired as Combee.

"Slack Off!" Harry called and Chimchar lay down and glowed white before leaping onto her feet.

"Endeavour again!" called Louise and Combee simply knocked Chimchar's health back to the same level as his own by transferring more blue energy onto her.

"Acrobatics!" Harry called and Chimchar darted forwards and made a huge leap towards Combee but he disappeared and reappeared behind her. Tailwind wore off but Louise didn't let that deter her.

"Air Cutter!" she called and Combee fired an Air Cutter at Chimchar, who was now above him.

"Counter Shield!" Harry called.

"Huh?" said Louise as Chimchar twisted her body in the air and rolled into a Flame Wheel before shoot out Flamethrower from within the Flame Wheel. The Air Cutter was stronger than usual thanks to the boosts provided by Ominous Wind but fortunately Flamethrower was strong enough to hold it off and the two moves exploded. While Combee was distracted by the smoke, Chimchar rolled straight into him with Flame Wheel before he could use Tailwind, "No, Combee!"

"Combee!" screamed Combee as he crashed to the ground. Chimchar landed behind him with a triumphant smile.

"Combee is unable to battle, Chimchar wins! The victory goes to Harry Rowan!"

"Yes!" Harry cried, "Way to go, Chimchar!" The crowd cheered and Chimchar darted towards Harry and threw herself on him in a hug. Harry laughed slightly at the Chimp Pokemon's affectionate behaviour. Then he looked over at Louise who had walked over to her Combee. The Tiny Bee Pokemon looked miserable but Louise smiled at him.

"I'm proud of you, Combee," she said, "You took out two Pokemon who had type advantage and one of them was your evolved form. You deserve a nice long rest." Combee's three faces lit up in smiles as Louise recalled him. Harry approached her with Chimchar on his shoulder.

"That Combee was really powerful," he said.

"Thanks," Louise said, "And good luck in the next round." The two trainers shook hands while the crowd cheered around them.


	68. The Sinnoh League Part 2

Ash was battling a young woman named Kim in round two of the three on three battles. They were fighting on an ice covered battlefield.

"Lapras I choose you!" Ash cried and Lapras emerged and landed on the freezing ice, completely unbothered by the cold.

"Go Delcatty!" cried Kim and a cat-like Pokémon appeared and stretched lazily before looking at Lapras. In the stands, Dawn looked up Delcatty in her Pokedex.

" _Delcatty the Prim Pokémon and evolved form of Skitty. It is highly popular among female Trainers for its sublime fur and sleeps anywhere it wants without keeping a permanent nest_."

"Delcatty Fake Out!" ordered Kim and Delcatty clapped her paws together and sent an invisible shock wave from them which caused Lapras to flinch, "Now use Thunderbolt!" Delcatty's fur sparked and then she unleashed a powerful blast of electricity which hit Lapras and caused her to squeal in pain.

"Lapras Confuse Ray!" Ash ordered and Lapras' eyes glowed purple.

"Safeguard!" called Kim and Delcatty surrounded herself with a green barrier which absorbed Confuse Ray, rendering it useless, "Now Thunderbolt again!" Delcatty fired a second Thunderbolt and once again Lapras screamed in pain.

"Lapras isn't very well suited to Ash's usual battle style," Harry noted.

"You're right," Brock said, "Most of Ash's Pokémon rely on speed but in Lapras' case she has to rely more on her endurance. Fortunately she had plenty of time to build up her endurance before Ash recaptured her."

"Lapras use Ice Beam!" Ash called and Lapras formed an orb in her mouth and fired no less than five beams, each one aimed flawlessly towards Delcatty. Harry made a mental note to train Glaceon to fire so many beams with such precision. Although the Ice Beam hit Delcatty and caused her to squeal in pain, Safeguard blocked the freezing side effect.

"Delcatty Iron Tail!" ordered Kim and Delcatty sprang gracefully towards Lapras and her tail turned to iron as she somersaulted in the air.

"Use Psychic!" Ash ordered and Lapras' eyes glowed blue and a blue aura surrounded Delcatty, stopping her in mid-air. Lapras jerked her head to one side and Delcatty went flying into one of the icebergs littering the battlefield.

"Delcatty!" cried Kim.

"Delcatty is unable to battle, Lapras wins!"

"Great job Lapras!" Ash cheered. Lapras looked back at him and sang joyfully before turning back to face Kim as she recalled her Delcatty.

"Good work Delcatty," she said to the Poke Ball, "Get some rest. Go Jynx!" A strange looking Pokemon with a vague resemblance to a human woman appeared.

" _Jynx the Human Shape Pokemon and the evolved form of Smoochum. It has several different cry patterns, each of which seems to have its own meaning_."

"Lapras use Hydro Pump!" ordered Ash and Lapras fired a huge stream of pressurized water from her mouth.

"Dodge and use Focus Blast!" ordered Kim and Jynx jumped into the air with surprising agility before forming a yellow orb of energy between her hands and hurling it at Lapras. The Focus Blast exploded in the Transport Pokémon's face and she collapsed.

"Lapras is unable to battle, Jynx wins."

"That's okay Lapras," Ash said, "You did a great job by taking out Delcatty. Snorlax I choose you!" His massive Snorlax landed on the ice which must be extremely thick to be able to hold such a heavy Pokémon.

"Jynx use Lovely Kiss!" called Kim and Jynx made a kissing motion with her lips and a lip shaped ray shot out and hit Snorlax who instantly yawned and fell asleep. Ash smirked.

"Sleep Talk!" he called and Snorlax mumbled in his sleep, heaved his huge body off the ground, even though he was still asleep and charged forwards, smashing into Jynx with Giga Impact and knocking her out in one blow.

"Jynx is unable to battle, Snorlax wins!"

"Good work Jynx, return. Go Grumpig!" cried Kim and a bipedal pig like Pokemon with a very curly tail appeared.

"Snorlax use Sleep Talk!" ordered Ash and Snorlax mumbled again and his fist was surrounded by icy energy. He punched Grumpig in the belly, knocking it backwards but Grumpig quickly recovered.

"So your Snorlax knows Ice Punch," Kim muttered "Good thing Grumpig's Special Ability is Thick Fat. Use Focus Blast!" Grumpig formed a yellow orb of energy between its hands and hurled it at Snorlax. The Fighting type move exploded and Snorlax crashed to the ground.

Use Sleep Talk again!" Ash called and Snorlax mumbled in his sleep, then created a Shadow Ball between his hands and hurled it at Grumpig.

"Use Bounce!" ordered Kim and Grumpig placed its spiral tail on the ice and sprang into the air, avoiding Shadow Ball before landing right on Snorlax's face. Snorlax grunted and shifted in his sleep but still didn't wake up.

"Sleep Talk!" Ash called and Snorlax mumbled in his sleep again before leaping into the air and descended towards Grumpig with a Body Slam attack. Grumpig's eyes widened in terror and a moment later it had a four hundred and sixty kilogram Sleeping Pokemon right on top of it. Snorlax was still fast asleep, unaware that he was probably crushing Grumpig.

"Grumpig is unable to battle, Snorlax wins! The victory goes to Ash Ketchum!"

"Great job Snorlax. Return," Ash said and Snorlax, still sleeping blissfully, was recalled allowing Kim to do the same for Grumpig.

* * *

Harry and Holly were paired with each other in the second round. While Harry and Ash did some training, Brock watched Holly training with her Pelipper. He was making no effort to conceal himself out of fear that she would think he was stalking her but apart from an awkward greeting, Holly hadn't been paying attention to him. Dawn found him while Pelipper circled Holly with Quick Attack.

"Brock why don't you just talk to her?" asked Dawn, "Normally you don't have any trouble flirting with girls."

"This is different," Brock muttered, "I'm not sure who to root for. In order to advance into the third round, Harry needs to beat Holly. But last time he beat her, she got depressed and left me."

"You really like her, don't you," Dawn said, "I preferred the Brock who would just flirt with any pretty woman he saw. This… scared, awkward Brock doesn't suit you."

"Well she left me once," Brock muttered, "How can I be sure she won't do so again?"

"You can't," Dawn said.

* * *

"Infernape, Flare Blitz!" ordered Ash and Infernape surrounded himself with flames but unlike the blue flames used by Flint's Infernape, his flames were red. Harry's Floatzel Bulked Up and braced himself as Infernape slammed into him, then jumped away, looking mildly frustrated, "Its okay Infernape. Just keep practicing and soon Flare Blitz will be blue."

"At least Infernape's mastered Close Combat," Harry said as Floatzel deflated his sac, "Now he can work on Flare Blitz full time."

"Yeah," Ash looked at Infernape, "I just hope you master it before I get paired up with Paul."

* * *

Harry and Holly would be battling on Harry's least favourite kind of battlefield; water. Fortunately Floatzel's training with Infernape hadn't tired him out much due to Flare Blitz being both unmastered and not very effective, so Harry was confident the Sea Weasel Pokemon was still fighting fit.

"Floatzel, take your position!" Harry called and Floatzel landed on one of the platforms scattered across the water.

"Bibarel, you're the one!" cried Holly and a beaver like Pokemon appeared.

" _Bibarel the Beaver Pokemon and evolved form of Bidoof. A river dammed by Bibarel will never overflow its banks, which is appreciated by people nearby_."

"Floatzel use Razor Wind!" Harry called and the fins on Floatzel's arms glowed white and he shot two blades of wind at Bibarel.

"Dive under and use Skull Bash!" ordered Holly and Bibarel dived into the water to avoid Razor Wind before bursting out a moment later, aiming its skull at Floatzel.

"Bulk Up!" Harry called and Floatzel inflated his sac and glowed red as Bibarel rammed into him. Floatzel skidded to the edge of his platform but didn't fall into the water, "Brick Break!"

"Floatzel!" cried Floatzel, smashing a Brick Break right onto Bibarel's skull. Surprisingly Bibarel got up again as Floatzel jumped back onto another platform.

"Bibarel Ice Beam!" ordered Holly and Bibarel fired a freezing beam at Floatzel. Harry and Floatzel both smirked.

"Aqua Jet," Harry said calmly and Floatzel surrounded himself with water and shot into the Ice Beam before slamming the Ice Aqua Jet into Bibarel, knocking it off its platform. Floatzel busted his way out of the ice a moment later. "Floatzel go after Bibarel and use Aqua Jet again!" Floatzel dived into the water. Bibarel was a good swimmer but Floatzel's Aqua Jet gave him the advantage and he knocked Bibarel right out of the pool.

"Thunderbolt!" ordered Holly.

"But how…?" Harry said as Bibarel shot a powerful electric shock from its body, hitting the soaked Floatzel who shrieked in agony.

"Use Surf!" ordered Holly and Bibarel actually jumped _onto_ the water which then rose up beneath it in a wave. Bibarel rode the wave towards the stunned Floatzel.

"Aqua Jet straight up!" Harry shouted and Floatzel shot straight up into the air dodging Bibarel's Surf which splashed water all over Harry. The Sea Weasel Pokémon circled back around and dived, smashing straight down on Bibarel's back and slamming it into the water.

"What?" gasped Holly.

"Floatzel's been training with Luxray to endure Electric attacks even after using Aqua Jet," Harry informed her, wiping wet hair out of his eyes. Bibarel scrambled back onto a platform.

"Well let's see if it can take two water conducted Thunderbolts," Holly said, "Let 'em have it Bibarel!"

"Bibarel!" cried Bibarel and shot out another electrical blast.

"Dodge it and use Razor Wind!" Harry ordered and Floatzel jumped and fired two more blades of wind from his fins. Both Razor Wind's slammed into Bibarel's platform and smashed part of it, whilst also knocking out the Beaver Pokémon.

"Bibarel is unable to battle, Floatzel wins!"

"That's okay Bibarel," Holly said, "You put up a great battle. Pelipper you're the one!" The evolved form of Wingull who looked like a Pelican appeared.

" _Pelipper the Water Bird Pokemon and the evolved form of Wingull._ _It carries eggs and small Pokémon inside its massive bill and builds its nest on steep cliffs facing the sea_."

"Floatzel use Ice Fang!" Harry ordered and Floatzel's fangs extended beyond their natural length and reached up towards Pelipper.

"Steel Wing!" cried Holly and Pelipper's wings turned to steel before it swiped one wing at the Ice Fang and shattered the sharp ice. Floatzel grunted. Harry wasn't sure if he could actually feel his Ice Fang being smashed or if he was just annoyed but either way, Holly had done a good job of countering the attack, "Hydro Pump!"

"Pelippeeeer!" cried Pelipper, the end of its name being muffled by the powerful stream of water it was shooting out of its massive bill. Hydro Pump knocked Floatzel right off his platform.

"Aqua Jet!" Harry shouted and Floatzel surrounded himself with water and spun his tails, altering his trajectory in mid-air and shooting towards Pelipper, slamming into the Water Bird Pokémon.

"Pelipper Air Slash!" cried Holly and Pelipper created a blade of air in front of its right wing and swung said wing, sending the Air Slash straight into Floatzel's chest. Floatzel crashed down on what was left of the platform he had destroyed earlier.

"Floatzel is unable to battle, Pelipper wins!"

"Excellent work Floatzel," Harry said as he recalled the Sea Weasel Pokémon, "Luxray take your position!" Luxray appeared and smirked when he saw Pelipper, "Shock Wave!"

"Ray!" cried Luxray shooting a bolt of electricity towards Pelipper.

"Protect!" called Holly and Pelipper surrounded itself with a blue barrier which absorbed the Shock Wave harmlessly.

"Wild Charge!" Harry called and Luxray leapt from platform to platform before making a powerful leap towards Pelipper, surrounding himself with electricity.

"Dodge then Air Slash!" cried Holly and Pelipper ascended, created a blade of wind in front of its right wing, and swung it straight down on Luxray's back, causing the Gleam Eyes Pokémon to belly flop painfully into the water. Harry winced as Luxray had the air knocked out of him and struggled to get back onto a platform, "Pelipper now use Supersonic!"

"Peeeeer!" cried Pelipper and shot sound waves out of its beak.

"Luxray dive under water!" Harry ordered and Luxray stopped fighting to stay above the water and instead sank underneath it. The water muffled the sound waves Supersonic created and prevented them from working. Luxray stayed under until he was sure Supersonic had stopped, then climbed out onto a platform, shaking his fur in irritation before looking up at Pelipper who was circling overhead.

"Pelipper use Hydro Pump!" ordered Holly and Pelipper shot another Hydro Pump at Luxray.

"Double Team!" Harry ordered and Luxray split into several copies with two on each platform, except for the half destroyed one which only had one, "Now Shock Wave!" Luxray, still hidden by Double Team, shot out another Shock Wave.

"Protect!" cried Holly and once again Pelipper deflected the Electric attack easily.

"Holly's trained her Pelipper really well," Brock said watching her with admiration, "Protect renders Shock Wave useless and Pelipper's too high up for Luxray to hit it with Wild Charge."

"Who are you rooting for?" asked Ash. Brock blushed.

"Uh, well, I... I'm gonna stay neutral here," he stammered.

"Luxray use Attract!" Harry called and Luxray winked and sent pink hearts floating up towards Pelipper. The hearts touched Pelipper and she got hearts in her eyes, confirming her gender, "Now Shock Wave!"

"Protect!" Holly called as Luxray shot out another Shock Wave. This time however Pelipper was too busy admiring Luxray to acknowledge the command and received a nasty Electric shock, "Alright Pelipper return!" Pelipper was recalled before Luxray could do any more damage, "Alright time for my secret weapon. Dragonair you're the one!"

"Draaaa!" cried a beautiful Dragon Pokémon with a long, blue snake like body, two blue orbs on its tail and another under its chin. It also had a tiny horn on its head and wing like ears.

"Whoa," Harry said, "A Dragonair." He took out his Pokedex while Luxray eyed the Dragon Pokémon warily.

" _Dragonair the Dragon Pokémon and evolved form of Dratini. It is a mystical Pokémon that exudes a gentle aura and has the ability to change the weather_."

"It's so pretty," Dawn said admiringly.

"A pretty Pokémon for a pretty woman," Brock agreed.

"Be careful Luxray," Harry said, "Holly wouldn't call Dragonair her secret weapon for nothing."

"Luxray," Luxray nodded.

"Use Attract!" Harry ordered and Luxray winked and shot out pink hearts at Dragonair.

"Safeguard!" Holly ordered and Dragonair's body glowed green before the hearts hit her, rendering Attract useless.

"Wild Charge!" Harry ordered and Luxray ran towards Dragonair, surrounding himself in electricity.

"Dragon Rush!" ordered Holly and Dragonair straightened her long body like an arrow and lunged, surrounding herself with blue energy. The two Pokémon crashed into each other and even though Luxray was fully evolved, Dragonair still overpowered him and sent him crashing into the water.

"Luxray!" Harry shouted. Luxray emerged a moment later, shaking water out of his fur, "Alright Shock Wave." Luxray shot a bolt of electricity but Dragonair didn't even flinch. She just watched Luxray with an unnervingly calm expression, "Okay Luxray return." Harry recalled Luxray and took out another Poke Ball, "Glaceon take your position!" Glaceon appeared and landed on a platform. Her fur stiffened as if she was about to use Ice Shard.

"An Ice type huh," said Holly, "Alright Dragonair, Flamethrower!" Dragonair opened her mouth and fired a powerful stream of flames at Glaceon.

"Mirror Coat!" ordered Harry and Glaceon's fur glowed brightly as she deflected the Flamethrower straight back at Dragonair, causing the Dragon Pokémon to squeal in pain, "Now use Ice Shard." Glaceon shot shards of ice from her fur and Dragonair was knocked backwards by the super effective move.

"You can take that Dragonair!" cried Holly, "Use Dragon Rush!" Dragonair straightened her body and surrounded herself with blue energy as she shot towards Glaceon, smashing into her and sending her flying off the battlefield and into the wall.

"Glaceon are you okay?" Harry called. Glaceon shook herself and nodded in determination before leaping back onto the battlefield, "Alright Ice Beam!" Glaceon shot four beams of ice towards Dragonair.

"Dodge it and use Flamethrower!" called Holly and Dragonair twisted her body causing all four beams to fly harmlessly past her before firing another Flamethrower.

"Dodge and use Iron Tail!" Harry ordered and Glaceon sprang over the flames and leapt from platform to platform. Her tail turned silver as she swung it at Dragonair.

"Use Iron Tail too!" countered Holly and the two orbs on Dragonair's tail turned silver and there was a loud clang as the two Iron Tails collide. Glaceon had most of the platform for support while Dragonair was levitating above the water but neither of them could overpower the other, "Now use Hyper Beam!" Dragonair extended her neck over her tail which was still locked with Glaceon's tail and formed a yellow orb in front of her horn. Harry thought quickly.

"Swing up!" he ordered and Glaceon abandoned trying to overpower Dragonair's Iron Tail and instead swung her tail up. Now that her tail was no longer braced against Glaceon's, Dragonair's balance was disrupted for a split second and her head dipped slightly, allowing Glaceon to strike her on the orb under her chin. Dragonair let out a surprisingly loud scream as her head jerked up and the Hyper Beam misfired, nearly hitting Harry instead of Glaceon. Harry realized that Dragonair's orb must be very sensitive, considering Glaceon's Iron Tail hadn't really had much momentum behind it. Glaceon jumped away from Dragonair whose calm expression was gone now. Instead she seemed angry.

"You shouldn't have done that," Holly muttered, "That's Dragonair's special area."

"Well she has to recharge now," Harry said confidently, "Use Ice Beam!" Glaceon fired four beams and Dragonair screamed in pain. Her eyes darkened and Harry suddenly realized with a sense of dread that her Safeguard had worn off.

"Dragonair Outrage!" ordered Holly and Dragonair's body glowed red. She screamed violently and lunged forwards, throwing her entire body into Glaceon in a clumsy but effective attack. Glaceon was knocked right into the pool and Dragonair dived in after her. Harry suddenly had a horrible thought that Dragonair might try to drown the Fresh Snow Pokémon but a moment later, Glaceon came soaring out of the water with Dragonair underneath her. Dragonair then started senselessly beating Glaceon with her long tail, not even bothering to use Iron Tail. Harry was pretty sure Glaceon was unconscious by now but without Safeguard, Dragonair had nothing to restrain her rage.

"Stop it!" Harry shouted, "Glaceon's beaten! Stop it!"

"Dragonair that's enough!" Holly yelled. Dragonair glared at her then fired a Flamethrower. Holly ducked and the crowd gasped. Dragonair looked around at them all and thunderclouds gathered overhead. It started to rain and lightning flashed above them even though it was the middle of the day.

"This isn't good," Brock said, "Holly forgot to tell Dragonair to use another Safeguard before ordering that Outrage."

"Dragonair calm down!" Holly cried, "Get a hold of yourself!" Dragonair scowled at her. She abandoned Glaceon, who was not only unconscious but severely bruised and even a little bloody. There was no doubt that she was unable to battle but the referee was too busy watching Dragonair to confirm it. The Dragon Pokémon advanced on her trainer. Lightning flashed making her beautiful form suddenly seem terrifying. Harry jumped across to Glaceon's platform to check on her. Dragonair heard the splash and twisted her head towards him.

"Riolu!" cried Riolu who had been watching from the stands with Pikachu and Piplup since Harry wasn't using him in this battle. He bounded down and hurried over to the battlefield jumping onto the platform beside his trainer and Glaceon. Dragonair scowled as Riolu formed an Aura Sphere.

"Riolu don't!" Harry said, "You'll just make her angrier!" Riolu dissipated the Aura Sphere and watched Dragonair warily.

"Dragonair you beat Glaceon okay," Holly said gently and Dragonair turned back to her, "Just take deep breaths." Dragonair obeyed, breathing in then out. She floated closer to Holly and nuzzled her, "Good girl. I'm sorry. I got so caught up in the battle that I forgot you need Safeguard to stop Outrage from making you lose control. Are you okay now?"

"Dragon," Dragonair nodded. Everyone relaxed. It continued to rain but there were no more flashes of lightning or rumbles of thunder. Harry looked down at Glaceon who twitched slightly, reassuring him that she was still alive.

"Glaceon I'll get you to the Pokémon Centre as soon as I'm done here," he said, "You'll be fine."

"Glay," Glaceon whispered opening one eye to smile at him weakly before he recalled her. Harry jumped from the platform back to his side of the battlefield. Riolu stayed beside him. Nobody minded even though Riolu shouldn't really be with his trainer if he wasn't battling.

"Ready to finish this?" Holly called.

"Ready," Harry said, "Luxray take your position!" Luxray appeared and looked up at the rain cloud Dragonair had created. The Dragon Pokémon didn't bother to dissipate it as the cool water was helping her stay calm.

"Dragonair use Dragon Rush!" Holly ordered and Dragonair pointed her body at Luxray and shot towards him.

"Double Team!" Harry shouted and Luxray split into a dozen copies, causing Dragonair to pass harmlessly through one of them, "Now use Howl!"

"Ray!" Luxray howled and glowed red as his Attack power increased.

"Dragonair get rid of the rain and use Flamethrower on all of them!" ordered Holly. Dragonair's orb glowed bright blue and the clouds started to clear.

"Howl again!" Harry ordered while Dragonair was busy changing the weather, Luxray Howled once more and raised his Attack power further. Dragonair then started destroying his Double Team with Flamethrower, "Dodge and use Iron Tail!" The real Luxray sprang over the flames and swung his glowing tail.

"Iron Tail as well!" ordered Holly and Dragonair's own Iron Tail intercepted the attack. Although Luxray had a boost from two Howls, his Rivalry was still working against him so Dragonair managed to hold him off, "Break away and use Dragon Rush!" Dragonair broke the tail lock and darted away but although she was fast, it still took her a few seconds to turn her long body all the way around and straighten it in order to use Dragon Rush.

"Dodge it then Crunch!" ordered Harry and Luxray stepped to the edge of his platform feeling the wind Dragonair caused as she passed but not taking any damage. Luxray bit down on Dragonair's tail and the Dragon Pokémon screamed. Fortunately Luxray wasn't biting one of her orbs but it still hurt, "Throw her in the pool!"

"Ray!" growled Luxray, his voice muffled because Dragonair's tail was still in his mouth. He swung his head and slammed Dragonair painfully down into the pool.

"Shock Wave!" Harry ordered and Luxray let go of Dragonair's tail and shot another electric blast at her. By now Dragonair was exhausted but even so, Howl didn't make Shock Wave stronger while Rivalry did make it weaker.

"Hyper Beam!" yelled Holly in frustration and Dragonair twisted around and fired a Hyper Beam.

"Dodge then Iron Tail!" Harry shouted and Luxray sprang over the Hyper Beam, somersaulted and smashed Iron Tail into Dragonairs head before landing on the platform behind her. A moment later Dragonair's head landed on the same platform while the rest of her body slumped into the water.

"Dragonair is unable to battle, Luxray wins!"

"Finally," Harry said in relief as Holly recalled Dragonair.

"Good job Dragonair," she said, "Alright Pelipper let's finish this!" Pelipper burst out of the Poke Ball, no longer affected by Attract, "Quick Attack!" Pelipper shot towards Luxray and slammed into him before flying up and away.

"Shock Wave!"

"Protect!"

Shock Wave was blocked by Protect so Harry ordered, "Attract!" and Luxray sent pink hearts towards Pelipper.

"Dodge it and use Steel Wing!" ordered Holly and Pelipper dived beneath the hearts and skimmed across the pool with her wings glowing silver.

"Jump then Iron Tail!" ordered Harry and Luxray sprang up and then slammed an Iron Tail onto Pelipper's back, knocking her into the pool, "Shock Wave!"

"Protect!" Holly screamed and Luxray electrified the entire pool but Pelipper rose out of it, her blue barrier surrounded by electricity but not penetrated by it, "Hydro Pump!"

"Luxray stand your ground and use Shock Wave!" Harry ordered as Pelipper squirted out another Hydro Pump. This time Luxray allowed the attack to hit, digging his claws into the platform to hold himself in place before sending Shock Wave right into the Hydro Pump. The water conducted the electricity and Pelipper shrieked in pain. Then Hydro Pump caused Luxray to topple over as Pelipper crashed down on a platform opposite him, "Luxray get up!"

"Come on Pelipper!" cried Holly. Luxray struggled to his feet, his fur sparking threateningly. Pelipper shifted slightly but even though her gender had caused Rivalry to weaken the Shock Wave instead of enhance it, it was still too much for the Water and Flying type. Her wing flopped down and she lay still.

"Pelipper is unable to battle, Luxray wins! The victory goes to Harry Rowan!"

* * *

"Holly!" called Brock as Holly was walking away from the Pokemon Center. Holly turned to him. Harry, Ash and Dawn watched from a distance, worried that Holly was about to walk away from Brock all over again.

"Hi," Holly said.

"Hi," Brock said and paused, "Are you leaving?"

"I lost to the same kid who beat us in the Tag Battle Tournament," Holly said sadly.

"You know that kid's one of my friends right?" Brock asked. Holly nodded.

"Yeah I know," she said glancing at Harry over Brock's shoulder.

"Please don't go," Brock said quietly, "I'm sorry that you lost but that's part of life. You know that. During the Tag Battle Competition I thought that… there was something special between us."

"Don't you flirt with just about any woman?" asked Holly.

"It's different with you," Brock said, "Heck I think even Croagunk can see that; he hasn't tried to Poison Jab me since I learned that you were here."

"Holly," Harry said cautiously, not entirely sure if he should speak in this situation. After all, Holly and Brock were both nearly a decade older than him and Harry had no personal experience with romance but he wanted Brock to be happy, "I only barely defeated you. You're a great trainer and Brock knows that. He doesn't care if you win or lose; he cares about you as a person."

"Really?" asked Holly looking at Brock, who nodded.

"That's why I haven't been as… forward as I was in the Tag Battle Competition," he explained, "I was afraid I'd scare you off."

"I thought you could do better than me," Holly muttered.

"Look I don't know if it can work between us," Brock admitted, "But could we at least give it a shot? At least stay until the end of the tournament."

There was a long pause. Finally, Holly nodded and said, "Okay."

* * *

Harry looked up at the trainers board and saw that he was paired up with Derek, the trainer who had badly hurt Gabite and nearly caused Harry to miss the Sinnoh League. Their battle was scheduled to take place the next morning. Harry glanced at Brock.

"Do you think Gabite's up for it?" Harry asked, "He's going to want to settle the score with Tyranitar."

"Well it's been three days," Brock said, "I think Gabite will be okay but it might be safer to give him one more day, just to be safe."

"Gabite wouldn't be happy about that," Harry said, "I'm surprised he's resisted the urge to battle for this long."

"I'll be battling first anyway," Ash said nodding to the board. Everyone looked up and saw that he had been paired up with Conway.

"First thing tomorrow," Dawn noted.

"Can't wait," Ash replied.

* * *

In the third round of the three on three battles, Ash was facing Conway on a rocky battlefield.

"Shuckle, let's go!" cried Conway sending out a small, turtle like Pokemon with a yellow head and legs and an extremely hard shell.

" _Shuckle the Mold Pokemon. It hides itself under rocks, keeping its body concealed inside its hard shell while eating berries it has stored away. The berries mix with its body fluids to become a juice_."

"Larvitar, I choose you!" Ash cried, sending out the orphaned Pokemon, "Use Stone Edge!" Larvitar surrounded her body with sharp stones and fired them at Shuckle.

"Withdraw!" called Conway and Shuckle withdrew its limbs and head into its shell before the Stone Edge slammed into it. Shuckle emerged from its shell once the Stone Edge was over and smirked.

"Shuckle's got the highest defences of any Pokemon," Brock said in the stands, "It's very difficult to defeat if you just rely on brute strength."

"Shuckle use Power Trick!" ordered Conway and Shuckle's body glowed multicolored. However when the glow faded, Shuckle seemed no different than it was before.

"What did Shuckle just do?" Harry asked Brock.

"It swapped its Attack and Defense stats," Brock replied, "You see, Shuckle's Defence is really high but its Attack is really low. By using Power Trick, it's raised its Attack to a really high level at the cost of lowering its Defence."

"That means that all Larvitar needs to do now is hit Shuckle with a Physical Attack," Holly said from beside Brock.

"Yeah but the problem is, Ash has never battled a Pokemon using Power Trick before," Brock said.

"Larvitar, Hidden Power!" Ash called and Larvitar created white balls of energy around her body and shot them at Shuckle who shrugged off the Special Attack as though it was nothing.

"Shuckle use Gyro Ball!" ordered Conway and Shuckle withdrew its head but kept its legs outside the shell as they glowed light blue. It then spun with such speed that it was lifted into the air and smashed into Larvitar sending her crashing into a rock.

"Larvitar is unable to battle, Shuckle wins!"

"No way!" Ash cried, "Larvitar lost in just one attack?"

"You see Ash, Shuckle's Power Trick swaps it's Attack and Defence stats," Conway said, adjusting his glasses smugly, "Shuckle has extremely high Defense and Power Trick swapped it to give it extremely high Attack instead. Not only that, but Gyro Ball is super effective against a Rock type like Larvitar."

"Larvitar return," Ash said, "Good job Lavitar. Get some rest. Let's go, Totodile!" An energetic little blue Pokemon that looked like a bipedal crocodile appeared and started dancing, "Hydro Pump!" Totodile squirted a jet of water from his mouth at Shuckle. The Mold Pokemon shrugged off the super effective move easily.

"Gyro Ball!" ordered Conway and Shuckle started spinning again, lifting itself into the air and shooting towards Totodile.

"Totodile, Bite!" ordered Ash and Totodile opened his mouth and clamped his powerful jaws shut on Shuckle, stopping the Gyro Ball, "Now use Aqua Tail!"

"Toto, Dile!" cried Totodile, spitting out Shuckle and turning as his tail became enveloped in water. He slammed the Aqua Tail into Shuckle and knocked it out.

"Shuckle is unable to battle, Totodile wins!"

"Good job, Totodile!" Ash cheered and Totodile started dancing on the spot in joy.

"Good job Shuckle," said Conway as he recalled the Pokemon, "Go Dusknoir!" A Pokemon that looked like a cross between a genie and a cyclops appeared.

" _Dusknoir the Gripper Pokemon and the final form of Duskull. It receives electrical waves from the spirit world with its antenna and is said to take people to the spirit world as well_."

"So that's what Brandon's Dusclops would become if it ever evolves," Harry murmured.

"Totodile Hydro Pump!" ordered Ash and Totodile fired another Hydro Pump right into Dusknoir, pushing the Gripper Pokemon back.

"Trick Room!" called Conway and Dusknoir's single eye glowed red and a large light blue rectangle with light blue transparent walls and ceiling appeared around the battlefield. The walls and ceiling disappeared almost immediately leaving Ash, Harry and Dawn confused while Holly and Brock looked grim.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Holly said, "But hasn't Dusknoir just swapped its speed stat with Totodile?"

"That's right," Brock said, "Now Dusknoir will be fast and Totodile will be slow.

"Aqua Tail!" ordered Ash and Totodile lunged and swung his water enveloped tail at Dusknoir.

"Thunder Punch!" ordered Conway and Dusknoir smashed an electrified fist into Totodile's Aqua Tail, giving him a huge electric shock and hurling him across the battlefield.

"Totodile is unable to battle, Dusknoir wins!"

"Ash is in trouble now," muttered Harry and the others nodded.

"With Trick Room in effect he's going to have to be careful about which Pokemon he uses next," Brock said.

"Bulbasaur, I choose you!" Ash cried, sending out one of his oldest and most reliable Pokemon. Bulbasaur landed in front of the terrifying Dusknoir and glared at it defiantly.

"Ash has had Bulbasaur almost as long as Pikachu right?" Dawn asked Brock who nodded.

"Yeah so Bulbasaur's has a lot of experience," he replied, "But he's at a disadvantage in Trick Room."

"Bulbasaur, Razor Leaf!" ordered Ash and Bulbasaur fired sharp leaves from beneath his bulb.

"Fire Punch!" ordered Conway and Dusknoir's fists blazed and it incinerated every Razor Leaf before darting towards Bulbasaur. Due to Trick Room, Bulbasaur wasn't fast enough to avoid the attack and the Fire Punch sent him flying.

"Bulbasaur, Leech Seed!" Ash yelled and Bulbasaur shot out a small seed from his bulb.

"Dodge it then Fire Punch!" ordered Conway and Dusknoir darted away, causing Leech Seed to land harmlessly on the ground as the Gripper Pokemon nailed Bulbasaur with another Fire Punch.

"Grab it with Vine Whip!" Ash yelled and Bulbasaur shot out two green vines which wrapped around Dusknoir, pinning its arms to its sides. Dusknoir started struggling but Ash had a momentary advantage and he wasn't going to waste it, "Sleep Powder!" Bulbasaur sprinkled sparkling, light blue powder from the bulb on his back. Dusknoir stopped struggling against the Vine Whip as Sleep Powder caused it to fall asleep, "Now use Leech Seed!"

"Bulbasaur!" cried Bulbasaur firing a small seed from his bulb at the sleeping Dusknoir. As soon as Leech Seed landed, vines extended out of it and wrapped around Dusknoir who glowed red as Leech Seed started draining its energy and giving some of that drained energy to Bulbasaur.

"Dusknoir return!" called Conway and recalled Dusknoir to both Ash and Bulbasaur's frustration, "Go Slowking!" Conway's signature Pokemon appeared and smirked at Bulbasaur who scowled back. Trick Room lit up for a moment when Slowking appeared, showing that Ash was still at a disadvantage. "Use Psychic!"

"Slowking," Slowking said in a bored voice and telekinetically lifted Bulbasaur into the air before hurling him back.

"Vine Whip then Skull Bash!" Ash called and Bulbasaur shot out another Vine Whip which wrapped around Slowking and jerked it off balance, also preventing Bulbasaur from colliding with the wall. Conway was caught off guard by this, allowing Bulbasaur to regain his composure, charge forwards and slam his skull into Slowking who stumbled back.

"So your Bulbasaur knows Skull Bash," Conway muttered, "Alright Slowking use Water Pulse!" Slowking threw an orb of water which burst open when it hit Bulbasaur, throwing him backwards.

"Bulbasaur no!" Ash cried. Bulbasaur groaned and struggled to stand up. He looked up at Slowking who was looming over him. Bulbasaur scowled and felt energy rise up inside him but it wasn't energy provided by Overgrow. Bulbasaur had been resisting evolution for a long time but now seemed as good a time as any to finally change.

"Bulbaa!" cried Bulbasaur and allowed the white energy to light up his entire body. Ash's eyes widened; after all these years he'd begun to think that Bulbasaur would never evolve. From the stands, Pikachu also stared at his old friend and once again wondered if maybe he should use Ash's Thunderstone.

The glow faded and an Ivysaur stood in Bulbasaur's place, still rather battered from the two Fire Punches and the Water Pulse but at the same time stronger than ever.

"Awesome!" Ash cried, "I thought you were never going to evolve." Ivysaur nodded to him and examined his new body. He had always disliked Venusaur but had nothing against Ivysaur, so really he'd never had any reason other than sheer stubborness to resist his evolution for so long, "Alright Ivysaur use Solarbeam!" Ivysaur started absorbing sunlight.

"Slowking use Hidden Power!" ordered Conway and Slowking formed white orbs around its body but at that moment, Trick Room finally wore off.

"Vine Whip to jump!" ordered Ash and whilst simultaneously charging up Solarbeam, Ivysaur used Vine Whip to thrust himself into the air, safely above Hidden Power.

"Ivysaur can use Vine Whip and Solarbeam at the same time?" Conway gasped in shock. Even Slowking's eyes widened slightly but that was the only sign it gave of being surprised. Ivysaur smirked at Slowking and blasted a huge Solarbeam out of the flower on his back, blasting Slowking right into a rock. Ivysaur landed and glared at Slowking, daring it to get back up.

"Slowking is unable to battle, Ivysaur wins!"

"Alright!" cried Dawn, "Now all Conway has left is a sleeping Dusknoir!"

"Slowking return," Conway said, "Go Dusknoir!" Dusknoir appeared again, still fast asleep, "Dusknoir wake up! Come on!"

"Solarbeam!" Ash called and Ivysaur started absorbing sunlight.

"Dusknoir we can still win this but you need to wake up!" Conway yelled. On the other side of the battlefield, Ivysaur smirked and blasted Solarbeam straight into Dusknoir, blowing it off the battlefield and into the wall, "Dusknoir!"

"Dusknoir!" boomed Dusknoir and its eye opened. Conway relaxed and smirked.

"Alright Dusknoir let's get this battle over with," he said, "Use Trick Room!"

"Leech Seed quick!" Ash shouted and mercifully, Ivysaur managed to land Leech Seed before Dusknoir set up another Trick Room. Dusknoir grunted as Leech Seed started to drain its energy, "Ivysaur Solarbeam!" Ivysaur started absorbing sunlight.

"That'll take too long to build up," Conway said with a smirk, "Fire Punch!" Dusknoir shot towards Ivysaur who made a desperate attempt to avoid the flaming fist but was too slow in Trick Room. Ivysaur was hurled up into the air, still charging Solarbeam.

"Just a little more Ivysaur!" Ash yelled.

"Dusknoir, Shadow Punch!" Conway yelled and Dusknoir thrust a shadowy fist at the airborne Ivysaur who braced himself. Leech Seed had provided him with just enough energy from Dusknoir to keep Ivysaur conscious when the attack hit and his plants seemed to grow larger as Overgrow kicked in.

"Let 'em have it!" Ash yelled.

"IVYSAUR!" yelled Ivysaur unleashing a massive, Overgrow boosted Solarbeam towards a shocked Dusknoir, who couldn't believe that Ivysaur hadn't been knocked out by that last Shadow Punch. Dusknoir was so shocked by Ivysaur's endurance that even though Trick Room was still in effect, it didn't move in time.

"Noir!" it boomed as Solarbeam slammed into it.

"Dusknoir no!" cried Conway. Ivysaur landed and promptly collapsed onto his belly, lacking the strength to stay on his feet. Opposite him, Dusknoir pushed itself up off the ground.

Then Dusknoir fell down again as Leech Seed drained the last of its energy, providing Ivysaur with enough strength to lift himself upright.

"Dusknoir is unable to battle, Ivysaur wins! The victory goes to Ash Ketchum!"

"Yes!" Ash cried and hurried over to Ivysaur with Pikachu by his side, "Way to go, Ivysaur. That was some awesome battling and you finally evolved!"

"Ivysaur," Ivysaur nodded then extended a Vine Whip so that Pikachu could give him a high five.

* * *

Harry was facing Derek, the trainer who had badly hurt Gabite and nearly caused Harry to miss the Sinnoh League. If Harry won, he would be in the Victory Tournament and able to fight in six-on-six battles. He and Derek were going to be battling on a rocky battlefield.

"Ready to lose again you little squirt?" Derek sneered.

"No, I'm ready to kick your ass," Harry said. The judge frowned at him for his use of the word "ass" before explaining the rules while Harry and Derek glared at each other. Once the judge was finished, Harry threw a Poke Ball, "Drapion take your position!" Drapion burst out of his Poke Ball and clamped his claws eagerly.

"Go Tauros!" cried Derek and a Pokémon that resembled a Wild Bull but had three tails appeared and scraped his hoof along the ground.

" _Tauros the Wild Bull Pokémon. When it targets an enemy, it charges furiously while whipping its body with its long tails._ "

"Tauros Horn Attack!" ordered Derek and Tauros whipped his body with his tails before charging towards Drapion with his horns lowered.

"Grab its horns!" Harry called and Drapion reached out with his claws and clamped them around Tauros' horns. Tauros' sheer physical strength still pushed Drapion back but the Ogre Scorp Pokémon slammed his tail into the ground and used the claws on the end as an anchor, "Use Crunch!" Drapion clamped his powerful fangs down on Tauros neck causing the Wild Bull Pokémon to bellow with pain.

"Tauros use Giga Impact!" cried Derek and while Drapion was still holding onto his neck, Tauros surrounded himself with a cocoon of purple and yellow energy. Drapion released him and tried to back off but Tauros rammed into him and smashed him into a rock. The Wild Bull Pokémon stepped back to recharge which of course left him wide open.

"Drapion Payback!" Harry ordered and Drapion became surrounded by a black outline before lunging, spinning around and slamming his tail into Tauros knocking it off its feet, "Now use Cross Poison!" Drapion twisted back around with surprising speed for so large a Pokémon and smashed a Cross Poison onto Tauros' head.

"Horn Attack!" bellowed Derek and Tauros lowered his head and hooked his horns under Drapion's belly before lifting his head up and hurling Drapion into the air, "Now use Stone Edge!" Tauros turned and surrounded his body with hard stones which then shot into the air and smashed into Drapion. Drapion was sent crashing painfully into another rock, leaving bits of rubble where the collision took place. It was hard to tell how much of the rubble was Stone Edge and how much was the shattered rock.

"Drapion are you okay!" Harry shouted. A moment later Drapion burst out of the rubble and roared at Tauros, "That's the spirit. Pin Missile!" Drapion fired missiles from all six of his claws.

"Dodge it and use Giga Impact!" ordered Derek and Tauros charged fearlessly forwards, moving from side to side to avoid Pin Missile and surrounding himself with a purple cocoon. Any missile that did succeed in hitting him was simply destroyed by the Giga Impact.

"Brace yourself!" Harry shouted when he realized Pin Missile wouldn't stop Tauros. Drapion stopped firing and stood his ground, allowing Tauros to smash right into him like a bulldozer. Of course even Drapion couldn't stop a Giga Impact but by once again plunging his tail claws into the ground, he managed to slow Tauros down enough to prevent another painful collision with a rock, "Cross Poison!"

"Draaaapi!" roared Drapion raising both arms over his head and crossing them before slamming them both down on top of Tauros. The poison mixed with the energy from Giga Impact and created a huge explosion.

The smoke cleared and both Drapion and Tauros were glaring at each other, battered bruised and exhausted. Finally both Pokémon collapsed.

"Tauros and Drapion are both unable to battle!"

"Not bad," admitted Derek, "But you're still no match for me. Go Poliwrath!" A blue bipedal Pokemon with strong arms and a spiral pattern on its belly appeared. Harry took out his Pokedex.

" _Poliwrath the Tadpole Pokemon and one of the final forms of Poliwag. It is an extremely skilled swimmer, faster than the fastest human swimmers but despite this it is perfectly comfortable on dry land._ "

"Spiritomb, take your position!" called Harry sending out the Forbidden Pokemon.

"What the hell is that thing?" Derek asked.

"He's a Spiritomb, weren't you listening?" Harry said coldly while Spiritomb gave Derek a rather terrifying scowl.

"Poliwrath, Hydro Pump!" ordered Derek and Poliwrath fired a powerful Hydro Pump right into Spiritomb's face, "Now use Ice Punch!" Poliwrath's fist became surrounded by icy energy as it leapt at Spiritomb.

"Silver Wind!" Harry called and the pattern on Spiritomb's keystone glowed silver and he whipped up a swirling wind with crescents in it, blowing Poliwrath backwards before it could land its Ice Punch, "Now use Hypnosis!" Spiritomb's vortex like body started rotating over his keystone and hypnotic waves shot out and washed over Poliwrath, putting it to sleep.

"Poliwrath wake up!" screamed Derek.

"Dream Eater!" Harry called and Spiritomb's eyes glowed red and a second Spiritomb, only this one had no keystone, shot out of his body and passed through Poliwrath, sucking away its energy.

"Poliwrath is unable to battle, Spiritomb wins!"

"Damn!" snarled Derek, "Poliwrath return. Alright Tyranitar let's go!" The powerful Armour Pokemon roared and flexed its muscles when it emerged. "Use Stone Edge!" Sharp stones spun around Tyranitar's bulky body and shot towards Spiritomb.

"Block it!" Harry called and Spiritiomb withdrew into his keystone, causing Stone Edge to slam into the enchanted rock without harming Spiritomb, "Silver Wind!" Spiritomb emerged and whipped up another swirling wind with silver crescents.

"Tyranitar use your Ability!" Derek ordered and suddenly a sandstorm whipped up around Tyranitar and collided with the Silver Wind. The Sand Stream Ability overwhelmed Silver Wind and Spiritomb winced grunted in discomfort as the sand swirled around the entire battlefield.

"That was a powerful Sandstorm," muttered Dawn.

"Actually that wasn't Sandstorm," Brock told her, "It was Tyranitar's Ability Sand Stream. Unlike Sandstorm which only lasts for a short time, Sand Stream can keep going for however long Tyranitar wants it to."

"Dragon Claw!" ordered Derek and Tyranitar moved with surprising speed, slashing its blue, extended claws into Spiritomb and knocking him to the ground, "Now Iron Tail!" Tyranitar spun around and swung its mighty tail which glowed brightly even through the Sand Stream. Iron Tail sent Spiritomb flying clear out of the Sand Stream and into the wall.

"Spiritomb!" Harry cried as Spiritomb hit the ground hard.

"Spiritomb is unable to battle, Tyranitar wins!"

"That's okay Spiritomb," Harry said, "Gabite's got a score to settle with Tyranitar anyway. Take your position!" Gabite emerged and immediately blended into the Sand Stream, "Rock Smash!" Tyranitar didn't see Gabite coming until the Cave Pokemon was in front of it and by then it was too late for the Armour Pokemon to do anything, except receive considerable damage from the Fighting type attack.

"Tyranitar get rid of that Sand Stream!" ordered Derek and Tyranitar roared as though commanding Sand Stream to cease. Because Sand Stream was the Armour Pokemon's Special Ability, it had total control over how long it lasted, be it a few seconds or an entire battle. The Sand Stream died away leaving both Pokemon glaring at each other.

"Derek may be a brute but he's not stupid," Brock said, "He knows that Gabite's Sand Veil Ability would give him an advantage in Sand Stream."

"I didn't know a Tyranitar could control its Sand Stream like that," Holly muttered.

"Gabite use Dragon Rush!" Harry ordered and Gabite aimed for where his Rock Smash had landed before shooting towards Tyranitar.

"Block it!" ordered Derek and Tyranitar held out both hands and stopped Gabite in mid-air. Gabite remembred Thorton's Typhlosion using a similar technique, only Tyranitar wasn't actually gripping Gabite, just using its powerful arms to hold him back, "Iron Tail!"

"Dodge it!" Harry called and Gabite stopped his Dragon Rush and sprang away from the Armour Pokemon's mighty tail just in time.

"Dark Pulse!" ordered Derek and Tyranitar formed a black orb of rings between its hands and then sent the rings flying towards Gabite.

"Gabite use Dig!" Harry ordered and Gabite dove underground causing Dark Pulse to soar harmlessly over the hole. Both Derek and Tyranitar smirked.

"Earthquake!" Derek ordered and Harry had a sudden flashback of the devastating Earthquake Tyranitar had used while it was a wild Pokemon. Unlike before, Tyranitar didn't propel itself into the air but simply stomped on the ground with one foot. Although it clearly hadn't used its full power, the battlefield still shook violently.

"Gabite get out of there!" Harry yelled and Gabite desperately tunneled his way to the surface only to find himself right in front of Tyranitar.

"Dragon Claw!" ordered Derek and Tyranitar slashed Gabite with another powerful Dragon Claw, knocking him into a boulder.

"Gabite!" cried Harry and Gabite groaned before forcing himself back onto his feet.

"You and everyone here are lucky that Tyranitar wasn't using that Earthquake at full power, squirt," Derek said smugly, "If it was, this entire stadium would come crashing down."

"Believe me, I know," Harry replied, "Rock Smash!"

"Dodge then Crunch!" ordered Derek and Tyranitar stepped aside and opened its jaws. Harry and Gabite both had a sense of deja-vu as the sharp teeth closed around Gabite's neck, "It's over, squirt!"

"Gabite!" roared Gabite defiantly and began to glow white. Tyranitar released him and stepped back in shock as the light dazzled it. Gabite grew larger and his fins grew longer and thicker.

"Finally," Harry murmured as the glow faded. A Garchomp stood where Gabite had been. If that Crunch attack had left any bite marks on his neck, there was no sign of them, although his other injuries were still present. Nonetheless Garchomp stood tall and roared at Tyranitar so loudly that the Armour Pokemon actually took a step back, its confidence rattled by the turn of events.

"You just got lucky!" snarled Derek, "Tyranitar, Dragon Claw!" Tyranitar roared and thundered towards Garchomp. What nobody was expecting though was for Garchomp to give Tyranitar a taste of its own medicine by stepping aside and then slamming his own jaws shut on Tyranitar's neck. Due to Tyranitar's armour, it was more surprised than hurt but Harry took advantage of its moment of weakness.

"Dragonbreath!" he called and Garchomp built up white flames in his jaws whilst still using Crunch at the same time. Then he spat out both the Dragonbreath and Tyranitar sending the Armour Pokemon crashing into a rock, "Garchomp finish it with Draco Meteor!" Garchomp roared and fired a mighty Draco Meteor into the air. Unlike the twenty meteors he had used as a Gabite, Garchomp was now capable of summoning thirty meteors at once. They converged on Tyranitar and there was a massive explosion when they landed.

"Tyranitar!" screamed Derek. The Draco Meteor was so powerful that both Tyranitar and Garchomp were shrouded in smoke. When the smoke cleared, Tyranitar forced itself onto its feet.

Tyranitar glared at Garchomp.

Garchomp glared back.

Harry and Derek glared at each other from behind their Pokemon.

Finally Tyranitar collapsed. It made one last valiant attempt to get up, then fainted.

"Tyranitar is unable to battle, Garchomp wins! The victory goes to Harry Rowan!"

"Yes!" Harry said. Garchomp turned and smirked at him as he ran over to congratulate him, "That was brilliant Garchomp." Garchomp crossed his arms smugly and looked back at the downed Tyranitar as Derek recalled it. The older boy looked over at Harry.

"You got lucky," he growled, "Soon your luck will run out." With that, he turned and stalked out of the stadium.


	69. The Sinnoh League Part 3

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first round of the victory tournament!" cried the commentator as Harry prepared to battle a girl called Emily, "As you all know, sixteen trainers remain and all will engage in six-on-six battles. This first battle will be between Harry Rowan, grandson of the renowned Professor Rowan and Emily Watkins, who has shown strategic potential throughout this tournament!"

The crowd cheered as Harry and Emily faced each other. The judge raised his flags then brought them down yelling, "Trainers begin!"

"Sudowoodo let's go!" cried Emily and the tree like Sudowoodo appeared.

"Leafeon take your position!" Harry shouted and the Verdant Pokémon emerged and landed gracefully, "Leafeon, Leaf Blade!" Leafeon's leaves glowed as he lunged at Sudowoodo.

"Sucker Punch!" ordered Emily and Sudowoodo darted forwards and punched Leafeon in the face, catching him off guard. He still successfully landed Leaf Blade with his tail but had been unable to pull off his signature double Leaf Blade this time, "Now Sudowoodo Stealth Rock!"

"Sudo!" cried Sudowoodo and its body became surrounded in several silver glitters that grew larger and shot onto Leafeon's side of the battlefield. The energy formed into pointed gray rocks which surrounded Leafeon.

"Leafeon Magical Leaf!" ordered Harry and Leafeon swung his head and shot glowing leaves towards Sudowoodo. The leaves hit Sudowoodo and knocked him off his feet.

"Sudowoodo use Flail!" cried Emily and Sudowoodo jumped up and charged, flailing its arms and legs around wildly and striking Leafeon repeatedly.

"Leaf Blade!" Harry shouted and in the midst of Sudowoodo's Flail assault, Leafeon managed to slash the Imitation Pokémon's head with the Leaf Blade on his own head. The attack didn't have much momentum behind it due to the lack of space between the two Pokémon, but it hurt Sudowoodo enough to make it pause it's Flail for a second, giving Leafeon time to twist around and finish it with a Leaf Blade from his tail.

"Sudowoodo is unable to battle, Leafeon wins!"

"You did what I needed you to do Sudowoodo so return!" said Emily and Sudowoodo disappeared into the safety of its Poke Ball, "Rapidash you're up!" A beautiful unicorn like Pokémon with flames for its mane and tail appeared.

" _Rapidash the Fire Horse Pokémon and evolved form of Ponyta. This Pokémon is very competitive and loves to race, being able to reach nearly 150 mph in just ten steps._ "

"Leafeon return," Harry said and recalled the Verdant Pokémon, "Floatzel take your position!" Floatzel appeared and Stealth Rock rose into the air and crashed into him. He grunted in pain but quickly recovered.

"Sunny Day!" ordered Emily and Rapidash's horn glowed yellow and it shot a beam into the air causing the sunlight above to grow brighter.

"Floatzel use Bulk Up!" Harry called and Floatzel tensed his muscles, inflated his sac and glowed red, increasing his Attack and Defense.

"Solarbeam!" ordered Emily and Rapidash absorbed sunlight in its horn, opened its mouth and fired a massive Solarbeam at Floatzel.

"Dodge it and use Aqua Jet!" Harry ordered and Floatzel jumped over the Solarbeam, surrounded himself with water and lunged at Rapidash.

"Flare Blitz!" ordered Emily and Rapidash's flames turned blue and surrounded its entire body. It crashed into Floatzel and, despite Floatzel's Bulk Up boost and type advantage, threw him backwards across the battlefield.

"Now that's a Flare Blitz," Ash said from the stands.

"It was even more powerful thanks to Sunny Day," Holly said.

"Floatzel Hydro Pump!" Harry ordered.

"Solarbeam!" Emily countered and Floatzel fired a Hydro Pump but Rapidash's Solarbeam smashed through it and blasted the Sea Weasel Pokémon right into one of the rocks Sudowoodo had created.

"Floatzel are you okay!" Harry called. Floatzel struggled to his feet. Harry knew that his Water type moves were being weakened by Sunny Day so he needed Floatzel to hold out until it wore off, "Use Bulk Up!" Floatzel inflated and glowed red, raising his Attack and Defense once again.

"Rapidash use Flare Blitz again!" ordered Emily and Rapidash lunged towards Floatzel surrounded by flames.

"Aqua Jet and dodge!" Harry ordered and instead of meeting Rapidash's Flare Blitz head on, Floatzel used Aqua Jet to shoot up and away from the Fire Horse before circling back around. Rapidash turned and Floatzel slammed into its side, knocking it into another Stealth Rock, "Now Razor Wind!"

"Quick Attack!" ordered Emily as Floatzel fired two blades of wind from the fins on his arms. Rapidash shot forwards, dodging both Razor Winds before slamming into Floatzel.

"Brick Break!" Harry ordered and Floatzel slammed a powerful chop into Rapidash's face. The sunlight dimmed slightly, showing that Sunny Day was over, "Now use Aqua Jet!" Floatzel shot towards Rapidash like a water bullet and knocked it out.

"Rapidash is unable to battle, Floatzel wins!"

"Well done Rapidash, get some rest," Emily said, "I choose Starmie!" A purple Pokémon that resembled a starfish with a large red jewel in the middle of its body appeared.

" _Starmie the Mysterious Pokémon and evolved form of Staryu._ _At the center of its body is a red core, which sends mysterious radio signals into the night sky_."

"Razor Wind!" Harry ordered and Floatzel shot two Razor Winds at Starmie.

"Psychic!" ordered Emily and Starmie's red jewel glowed blue and both Razor Winds turned around in mid-air and slammed into Floatzel.

"Floatzel is unable to battle, Starmie wins!"

"Nice job Floatzel," Harry said, "Leafeon take your position!" Leafeon reappeared and immediately got hit by Stealth Rock but shrugged it off, "Leaf Blade!"

"Reflect!" ordered Emily as Leafeon lunged at Starmie. The Mysterious Pokémon formed a blue wall of light. It still retreated when Leafeon landed his double Leaf Blade but Reflect absorbed half of the damage, "Now use Signal Beam!"

"Star!" cried Starmie and shot a powerful rainbow coloured beam from its gem, blasting Leafeon at point blank range. Leafeon hit the ground hard, then struggled to his feet with a dazed look in his eyes. He ran towards the nearest Stealth Rock and started bashing his head against it.

"Leafeon snap out of it!" Harry shouted, "Use Sunny Day!" Leafeon was too confused to listen to his trainer's commands. Emily smirked slightly.

"Hydro Pump!" she ordered and Starmie released a powerful blast of water from the gem on the center of its body which knocked Leafeon off his feet.

"Leafeon is unable to battle, Starmie wins!"

"Leafeon return and take a break," Harry said, "Spiritomb take your position!" The Forbidden Pokémon emerged and glanced around at the Stealth Rock as it rose into the air. Thinking quickly, Spiritomb withdrew into his keystone as Stealth Rock slammed into him. When he re-emerged, he chuckled, having taken no damage from the entry hazard, "Good thinking Spiritomb. Use Dark Pulse!"

"Tooomb!" cried Spiritomb and shot a barrage of black rings towards Starmie.

"Hydro Pump!" ordered Emily and Starmie blasted a massive stream of water from its gem which forced its way through Spiritomb's Dark Pulse and knocked him backwards, "Now use Signal Beam!" Starmie followed the Hydro Pump with another rainbow coloured beam.

"In your keystone then Silver Wind!" Harry ordered and Spiritomb retreated into his keystone and the pattern on the stone glowed silver. Spiritomb had mastered the ability of summoning Silver Wind from _inside_ his keystone so the swirling wind blew Starmie backwards before the Forbidden Pokémon re-emerged, "Shadow Ball!"

"Signal Beam!" countered Emily and Shadow Ball and Signal Beam collided, creating an explosion.

"Rapid Fire Shadow Ball!" Harry ordered and Spiritomb shot out five Shadow Balls in quick succession.

"Psychic!" ordered Emily and Starmie used Psychic to stop all five Shadow Balls and send them straight back at Spiritomb.

"In the keystone then Silver Wind!" Harry ordered and once again, Spiritomb used the keystone to defend himself whilst simultaneously summoning a Silver Wind. Starmie's gem flickered, indicating it was running out of energy.

"Starmie Recover!" ordered Emily and Starmie glowed yellow and regenerated. Its gem returned to a healthy red.

"Spiritomb, Hypnosis!" ordered Harry and Spiritomb started swirling his vortex like body, sending hypnotic waves over Starmie and putting it to sleep.

"Starmie return," said Emily before Harry could order another attack, "Go Sableye!" A small, purple, bipedal Pokémon with sharp claws, gems for eyes and a red gem on its chest appeared.

" _Sableye the Darkness Pokémon._ _It hides in the darkness of caves and its diet of gems transformed its eyes into gemstones_."

"Dark Pulse!" Both trainers ordered and both Pokémon fired black rings at each other, creating an explosion.

"Rapid Fire Shadow Ball!" ordered Harry and Spiritomb fired five Shadow Balls.

"Detect!" called Emily and Sableye's gem-like eyes glowed green and it dodged all five Shadow Balls easily, "Now use Will-O-Wisp!" Sableye created a blue flame and fired it at Spiritomb, who bellowed in pain as he was burned.

"Silver Wind!" Harry shouted and Spiritomb summoned another Silver Wind, blowing Sableye backwards, "Now get closer!"

"Shadow Claw!" countered Emily as Spiritomb closed in on Sableye. Sableye pulled back its claws which glowed and extended and then slashed Spiritomb, knocking him backwards.

"Dark Pulse!" Harry ordered and Spiritomb swiftly recovered and blasted Sableye with Dark Pulse, blasting it into the wall before Spiritomb burst into flames thanks to the Will-O-Wisp.

"Sableye Power Gem!" cried Emily but Sableye didn't respond and Harry realised it had flinched.

"Quick, Shadow Ball!" he ordered and Spiritomb blasted Sableye with Shadow Ball, taking it out of the match.

"Sableye is unable to battle, Spiritomb wins!"

"Good work Sableye," said Emily, "Go Starmie!" Starmie reappeared and spun its body.

"It's awake?" Harry said in confusion.

"Starmie's Natural Cure lets it heal any status condition when it's recalled," Emily told him, "Signal Beam!" A rainbow coloured beam erupted from the gem in the middle of Starmie's body and knocked out Spiritomb.

"Spiritomb is unable to battle, Starmie wins!"

"Good work Spiritomb, return," Harry said, "Drifblim take your position!" Drifblim appeared and was smashed by Stealth Rock before focussing on Starmie, "Ominous Wind!" Drifblim started spinning and shot purple wind from her red underside, blowing Starmie into the wall.

"Starmie Recover!" called Emily and Starmie regenerated, "Now use Confuse Ray!" Starmie's gem shot out a red ray which hid Drifblim and caused her eyes to turn red.

"Drifblim Acrobatics!" cried Harry and Drifblim obeyed, except she aimed for one of the Stealth Rocks instead of Starmie. She crashed into it headfirst, "Wrong target Drifblim! Snap out of it!"

"Psychic!" ordered Emily and Starmie manipulated Drifblim's body and slammed her into each of the remaining Stealth Rocks, "Let's finish this with Hydro Pump!"

"Minimize!" Harry yelled and Drifblim regained her senses just in time to shrink down, causing Hydro Pump to shoot over her head, "Rapid Fire Shadow Ball!" Drifblim shot five Shadow Balls swiftly towards Starmie.

"Psychic!" ordered Emily and Starmie turned all the Shadow Balls around and shot them back at Drifblim.

"Ominous Wind!" Harry shouted and Drifblim waited until the closest Shadow Ball was just a meter away before whipping up an Ominous Wind. Because all five Shadow Balls had converged on one target, they were all within range of Ominous Wind and were therefore blown back towards Starmie, "Ouch," Harry said as Starmie received five Shadow Balls _and_ an Ominous Wind in quick succession.

"Starmie is unable to battle, Drifblim wins!"

"Good work Starmie," said Emily, "Knocking out three of Harry's Pokemon was great. Go Scyther!" Harry froze when the Mantis Pokémon appeared. Riolu glanced up at his trainer. He was the only being in the entire stadium who knew about Harry's fear of Scyther.

"A Scyther?" Harry said shakily, "Why did it have to be a Scyther?" Emily raised an eyebrow at him and smirked when she saw that he was scared.

"Scyther use Night Slash!" she ordered and Scyther's claws glowed purple and it lunged at Drifblim. Harry was too scared to give a command and Drifblim was knocked out by the Dark type move.

"Drifblim is unable to battle, Scyther wins!"

"What's wrong with Harry?" said Dawn.

"I think he's scared," Brock muttered.

"I didn't know Harry was scared of Scyther," Ash said.

"Drifblim, I'm sorry I let you down," Harry said to the Blimp Pokémon as she looked up at him, looking confused and slightly betrayed by the fact that he had just stood by and let her get defeated, "I just froze up. Scyther scares me."

"Drifblim, Blim!" Drifblim said, then slapped him with one of her four arms.

"Ow," Harry said, "Okay I deserved that. I should have told you I'm afraid of Scyther. I'm sorry." Drifblim folded two of her arms and turned away, "Don't be like that. Everyone's afraid of something."

"We're in the middle of a battle!" Emily called from the other side of the battlefield.

"Just a minute!" Harry called back, "Drifblim you know I care about you don't you. I just let my fear get the better of me for a moment. I'll try not to let that happen again."

"Drifblim," Drifblim turned back to him.

"Forgive me?" Harry asked hopefully. Drifblim gave him one of her signature hugs, "Thank you. Now you get some rest. Drapion take your position!" After recalling Drifblim, Harry sent out Drapion who got hit by Stealth Rock before roaring at Scyther.

"Scyther use X-Scissor!" ordered Emily and Scyther crossed his claws and lunged, slashing Drapion and causing him to roar with pain.

"Payback!" Harry ordered and Drapion glowed black and swung his tail but Scyther darted back out of range, without waiting for a command.

"Use Razor Wind!" ordered Emily and Scyther fired blades of wind from its scythes, causing Drapion to roar with pain.

"Dark Pulse!" Harry ordered and Drapion fired a beam of black rings at Scyther. Scyther easily avoided it and darted in towards Drapion.

"X-Scissor!" ordered Emily and Scyther slashed Drapion with another powerful X-Scissor, causing him to stumble back, "Alright let's finish this with Wing Attack." Scyther flew up and circled around to gain momentum before spreading its wings wide.

"Duck and grab it!" Harry ordered and at the last second Drapion ducked beneath the Wing Attack and reached up with his tail, grabbing the surprised Scyther in his tail claws before it could escape, "Alright Drapion use Dark Pulse!"

"Dra," growled Drapion twisting his upper body around while his tail gripped Scyther. He formed a black ball of rings between his claws, then blasted Scyther with Dark Pulse at point blank range, hurling him across the battlefield.

"Scyther no!" cried Emily as Scyther slammed into the wall.

"Scyther is unable to battle, Drapion wins!"

Drapion bellowed triumphantly and clamped his pincers while Emily recalled Scyther saying, "Good job Scyther. We just got caught off guard. Okay Mawile let's go!" A small Pokémon that would be cute if not for the massive, jaw like steel horns on the back of its head appeared.

" _Mawile the Deceiver Pokémon. The huge jaw-like horns on its head are capable of chewing through iron beams._ "

"Dark Pulse!" ordered Harry and Drapion fired black rings towards Mawile.

"Stockpile!" called Emily and Mawile opened its steel jaws and sucked in air before glowing purple.

"What's she doing?" asked Dawn.

"Stockpile raises Mawile's Defense and Special Defense at the same time and on top of that, the power it built up can be used to either attack or to heal," Brock told her.

"Drapion Crunch!" Harry ordered and Drapion opened his jaws as he lunged.

"Show them a real Crunch!" ordered Emily and Mawile stepped aside, turned and slammed its jaws down on Drapion's upper body, beneath his arms but above his abdomen. Drapion roared in pain.

"Try again Drapion!" Harry cried and Drapion twisted around but as flexible as he was, he couldn't reach Mawile.

"Mawile Brick Break!" ordered Emily and Mawile released her grip on Drapion. As soon as he was free, Drapion gave Mawile a taste of its own medicine by using Crunch on its upper body, only to receive a Brick Break to the head for his trouble.

"Payback!" Harry ordered and Drapion swung his tail and slammed it into Mawile, sending it skidding backwards.

"Iron Head!" ordered Emily and Mawile lowered its head and its body became surrounded by silver light. It headbutted Drapion as hard as it could and knocked him out.

"Drapion is unable to battle, Mawile wins!"

"Good job Drapion," Harry said, "Thank you for taking out that Scyther. Okay Riolu time to finish this." Riolu nodded and stepped back onto the battlefield. The last of the Stealth Rocks hit him but he shrugged them off, "Aura Sphere!"

"Stockpile!" ordered Emily and Mawile opened its steel jaw-like horns and sucked in air before glowing purple. Riolu fired an Aura Sphere which smashed into Mawile causing it to stumble but it quickly recovered, "Hang in there, use Iron Head!"

"Riolu use Force Palm!" Harry ordered as Mawile's body glowed silver and it lowered its head. Riolu thrust his Force Palm into the charging Mawile unleashing yellow energy which created an explosion and blew them both backwards.

"Now use Swallow!" cried Emily and Mawile opened its steel jaws again and seemed to suck in more air but instead of glowing purple, it glowed yellow in a similar way to when a Pokémon was using Recover. Once the glow faded, Mawile was looking healthier.

"Riolu, Brick Break!"

"Use Crunch!"

Riolu raised a hand and tried to deliver a chop to Mawile's head but the Deceiver Pokémon used its massive jaws to bite Riolu's arm, causing him to scream in pain. Mawile then threw Riolu and sent him crashing to the ground, where he rolled on his injured arm and yelped in pain.

"Now Iron Head!" Emily shouted and Mawile lunged towards Riolu.

"Counter!" Harry shouted and Riolu glowed red, causing Mawile to bounce right off him when it made contact, "Now Force Palm!" Riolu darted in close and used his uninjured hand to deliver a Force Palm which sent Mawile flying.

"Mawile use Stockpile!" Emily ordered and Mawile stored up energy and glowed purple.

"Double Aura Sphere!" Harry ordered and Riolu raised his injured arm, wincing slightly, before firing an Aura Sphere from one hand and then a second Aura Sphere from the other. Both Aura Sphere's smashed into Mawile and sent it flying.

"Swallow!" Emily called and Mawile healed again but since it had only used one Stockpile it still looked weary.

"Force Palm!"

"Iron Head!"

Both Pokémon collided and another explosion blew them both backwards. Mawile then winced as the side effect of Force Palm kicked in.

"Riolu finish it with Aura Sphere!" Harry ordered and Riolu fired another Aura Sphere at the paralyzed Mawile. The Deceiver Pokémon was blown off its feet and crashed to the ground.

"Mawile is unable to battle, Riolu wins! The victory goes to Harry Rowan!"

The crowd cheered and Harry grinned happily. It was the first time he'd ever won a full battle, or even forced an opponent to use all six Pokémon against him during a full battle. Riolu hurried over to him and Harry gave him a hug. He quickly let go when he realized Mawile's Crunch had really hurt Riolu's left arm.

"Sorry," Harry said, "How's your arm?" Riolu looked at his arm and flexed it slightly before shrugging, "Good battle Riolu. That's our first ever victory in a full battle. Feels good doesn't it?"

"Rio," Riolu smiled but then gestured to his injury.

"Apart from that," Harry said and Riolu nodded. The duo looked over at Emily who had recalled her Mawile. She looked over at Harry and Riolu. She didn't say anything but simply smiled and nodded to them, before walking away.

* * *

"You never told us you were afraid of Scyther," Dawn said while Ash was preparing for his battle.

"You never asked," Harry said shrugging, "I mean how can you not be scared of those claws? Scizor is much less threatening."

"What about when Scizor looks like it has three heads?" asked Brock.

"You can tell it's just using its arms," Harry said dismissively, "Oh look, it's time for Ash's battle."

* * *

"Wartortle use Skull Bash!" Ash ordered and his Wartortle lowered his head, glowed white and hurled himself into the opposing trainer's Girafarig, knocking it out and ending the battle.

"Girafarig is unable to battle, Wartortle wins! The victory goes to Ash Ketchum!"

Harry clapped while Dawn and Brock cheered along with the rest of the crowd. Down on the battlefield, Ash gave Wartortle a hug and congratulated him on his victory.

* * *

Harry and Ash were both in the top eight. They were outside the main stadium having a training session while Brock, Dawn and Holly watched.

Harry was extremely agitated now that he knew who he would be facing in the next round. He had already picked the team he felt was best suited to the battle, using what knowledge he had of Tobias' team but realistically he knew he didn't stand a chance against the mysterious trainer.

"Muk use another Hyper Beam!" ordered Ash and Muk fired a huge yellow beam from his mouth.

"Garchomp brace yourself again!" Harry called and Garchomp crossed both fins over his body. The Hyper Beam exploded against his fins but Garchomp was still knocked off his feet, although his fins had absorbed some of the damage.

"Harry, it's going to take time for Garchomp to build up the same amount of resilience as Cynthia's Garchomp," Brock said from the sidelines.

"Well I'm running out of time," Harry said in agitation.

"Cynthia's Garchomp probably trained for years before she built up enough strength to block Frenzy Plant," Brock told him, "You can't expect Garchomp to gain that much strength simply by evolving."

"And you're in the final eight already," Holly added, "Not many trainers your age have managed that."

"Yeah but my chances of beating a guy with at least three Legendary Pokémon are really slim!" Harry said. Riolu had sensed Harry's agitation ever since it was confirmed he would be battling Tobias and even Garchomp was slightly concerned. Riolu scowled at Harry, then slammed a Brick Break onto his trainers head. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Riolu!" Riolu shouted at him, "Rio! Riolu!" Harry wasn't sure what Riolu was saying but assumed that all his negative emotions were being felt by the Emanation Pokemon.

"Getting upset is just going to disrupt your focus," Brock told him, "And it's not very encouraging for your Pokemon either. Don't forget they're the ones who are actually going to be battling Legendary Pokemon."

"You're right," Harry said looking down at Riolu who was still frowning at him. Garchomp watched with a combination of amusement and concern, "Sorry guys. I'm just… scared."

"Don't you mean nervous?" said Dawn. Harry didn't answer and everyone realized that when he said he was scared he hadn't been exaggerating.

Harry knew that he was going to lose in the upcoming battle. At least in most of his other battles, he could always just go back for a rematch. In a tournament he only had one chance and Tobias had at least three Legendary Pokemon, all of whom were about as powerful as Brandon's Legendary Golems, who had wiped the floor with Paul's entire team. Not only that but according to Ash and Brock, the Darkrai from Aalmos Town was able to at least temporarily hold off the gods of time and space at the same time!

"I think that's enough for now, Muk," Ash said.

"Muk," said Muk and smothered his trainer with his slimy body. Harry, Dawn and Holly all grimaced in disgust while Brock smiled and Ash, having grown used to having a huge, stinky pile of sludge on top of him, just laughed as he tried to push Muk off.

* * *

Harry stood nervously on his side of the battlefield with Riolu beside him. Tobias stood facing him, oozing confidence. He smiled slightly and tossed Darkrai's Poke Ball. The Pitch Black Pokemon emerged and hovered above the battlefield, every bit as confident as its trainer.

"Bronzong battle position!" Harry called and the Bronze Bell Pokemon appeared, rising slightly into the air so that it was level with Darkrai.

"Begin!" cried the referee raising his flags.

"Darkrai use Dark Pulse!" ordered Tobias and Darkrai shot a beam of black rings towards Bronzong.

"Bronzong use Light Screen!" Harry called and Bronzong formed a yellow screen. Dark Pulse smashed into the Light Screen and Bronzong retreated slightly but didn't take much damage.

"Shadow Claw!" ordered Tobias and Darkrai moved in close with its claws extended and glowing.

"Iron Defense!" Harry called and Bronzong crossed its arms over its body and glowed before Darkrai slashed it with Shadow Claw. Bronzong took the hit, then threw out its arms and Darkrai retreated.

"Use Dark Void!" Tobias ordered and Darkrai raised its arms and created its Signature Move.

"Safeguard!" Harry ordered and Bronzong created a green, crystalised barrier around its body. The black orb that was Dark Void struck Safeguard and expanded, surrounding Bronzong before fading. Bronzong was still wide awake. Tobias frowned, "Enough defense Bronzong. Use Gyro Ball!"

"Bronzong!" boomed Bronzong and went on the offensive for the first time, creating two balls on the ends of each arm before spinning rapidly and smashing into Darkrai, throwing it backwards.

"Darkrai get close and use Dark Pulse!" Tobias ordered and Darkrai darted forwards and unleashed Dark Pulse at point blank range. Light Screen appeared but Bronzong was still blasted into the wall.

"Bronzong!" Harry called then sighed with relief when Bronzong floated back onto the battlefield, still perfectly capable of fighting, "Alright use Gyro Ball one more time!" Bronzong spun rapidly and headed towards Darkrai.

Tobias thought quickly. Against most opponents, Darkrai could either overwhelm them with raw power or put them to sleep with Dark Void, then use Dream Eater to hurt them and heal itself. However against Bronzong, Tobias realized he was going to have to try something different. His eyes flicked to Bronzong's hollow underside.

"Duck then Shadow Claw straight up!" he ordered and at the last second Darkrai ducked beneath Bronzong and aimed Shadow Claw right into the Bronze Bell Pokemon's backside. Bronzong bellowed in pain and a moment later Darkrai was wearing it as though it was a giant, metal, bell shaped glove. Darkrai, still with its Shadow Claw inside Bronzong's hollow body, threw down its arm and sent Bronzong crashing into the ground, "Now use Focus Blast!"

"Rai," rumbled Darkrai, forming a blue orb which it hurled at Bronzong. Light Screen reappeared and absorbed half of the damage but Harry realized that having a Shadow Claw shoved up its backside had really weakened Bronzong. Not only that but Light Screen wore off after it absorbed the Focus Blast.

"Bronzong, Flash Cannon!" Harry ordered.

"Use Dark Pulse!" Tobias ordered as Bronzong fired a silver beam from its rear end. Darkrai shot Dark Pulse towards the Flash Cannon and they met in midair. Dark Pulse continued towards Bronzong, pushing its way through Flash Cannon before striking the Bronze Bell Pokémon. The explosion blasted Bronzong across the battlefield and it landed in front of Harry.

"Bronzong is unable to battle, Darkrai wins!"

"Bronzong you were great so get some rest," Harry said and recalled Bronzong.

"Harry," Tobias called before Harry took out another Poke Ball, "I must give credit where credit is due in regards to your Bronzong's performance. Against most opponents, Darkrai can simply overwhelm them but Bronzong's defensive techniques are impressive. It's been a while since someone has forced me to improvise."

"Thanks," Harry said and threw the Poke Ball, "Leafeon, battle position!" Leafeon appeared, crouching slightly in a battle stance.

"Darkrai use Ice Beam!" ordered Tobias and Darkrai formed an orb between its hands and fired five freezing beams.

"Quick Attack!" he called and Leafeon shot forwards, dodging Ice Beam and slamming into Darkrai.

"What's this?" cried the commentator, "Quick Attack worked against Darkrai!" Evidently the commentator thought Darkrai was a Ghost type. Harry had noticed that none of Tobias' previous opponents had used a Normal or Fighting type move against Darkrai, which had made it easier for Darkrai to sweep them.

"Most people are under the impression that Darkrai's a Ghost type," Harry said, "But of course I have the advantage of knowing that it's a pure Dark type."

"Indeed," Tobias replied, "But that won't be enough to beat Darkrai. Use Dark Void!" Darkrai created a black orb and threw it at Leafeon.

"Sunny Day!" called Harry and Leafeon shot a beam into the air and the sunlight brightened, activating Leaf Guard and rendering Dark Void useless, "Solarbeam!" The leaf on Leafeon's head stood up straight and absorbed sunlight very quickly. Leafeon opened his mouth and blasted Darkrai with Solarbeam, knocking it backwards.

"Darkrai use Ice Beam!" ordered Tobias and Darkrai fired another Ice Beam, this time hitting Leafeon although Sunny Day and Leaf Guard prevented the attack from freezing him. Nonetheless the super effective move still hurt.

"Leafeon, Leaf Blade!" Harry called and Leafeon's leaves glowed as he lunged at Darkrai.

"Ascend then Dark Pulse!" Tobias ordered and Darkrai ascended above Leafeon before sending a Dark Pulse straight down at him, smashing him into the ground and throwing a cloud of dust into the air. Darkrai floated above it, breathing hard. Gyro Ball, Quick Attack and Solarbeam had caused a lot of damage and unlike against most opponents, Darkrai hadn't been able to use Dark Void and Dream Eater to re-energize itself. Leafeon was revealed to be unconscious when the dust cleared.

"Leafeon is unable to battle, Darkrai wins!"

"That's okay Leafeon," Harry said as he recalled him, "Thanks to you and Bronzong, Darkrai's exhausted. Glaceon battle position!" Leafeon's sister appeared, "Ice Shard!" Glaceon froze her fur and rapidly shot shards of ice at the exhausted Darkrai.

"Shadow Claw!" cried Tobias and despite its exhaustion, Darkrai still moved extremely quickly, using Shadow Claw to cut the shards out of the air. One penetrated its defense however, striking its thin waist and causing it to double over and close its eyes in pain and exhaustion. Harry could almost taste victory.

"Finish it with Iron Tail!" he yelled and Glaceon's tail turned to iron and she ran forwards, eager to be the one to knock out Darkrai.

"Dodge then Dark Void!" Tobias ordered and Darkrai opened its eyes as Glaceon leapt and somersaulted, bringing her tail down towards the Legendary Pokemon's head. Summoning its remaining strength, Darkrai dodged to the side, causing Glaceon's Iron Tail to miss by inches. Glaceon landed on her feet but a black orb surrounded her body before she could escape.

"No!" Harry shouted. Tobias was about to snatch victory right from the jaws of defeat.

"You look like you need re-energizing, Darkrai," Tobias said. Darkrai nodded and didn't even wait for Tobias' command. Its eyes glowed red and a shadow shot out from its body and passed right through Glaceon, draining a lot of health and giving Darkrai a much needed energy boost.

"Glaceon, wake up!" Harry screamed. He'd been so close! He'd only needed Glaceon to land one more hit but now Darkrai was healing itself and hurting Glaceon at the same time!

"Dream Eater once more!" Tobias boomed and Darkrai sent another shadow through Glaceon's body, draining away all of her remaining energy. Darkrai now looked strong and healthy again. If it was still feeling any pain from the attacks it had taken, there was no sign of it in its body language.

"Glaceon is unable to battle, Darkrai wins!"

"Damn it!" Harry shouted, loud enough for everyone to hear. Riolu looked up at him in concern. Harry felt angry and upset and even a little let down that Glaceon hadn't been able to finish Darkrai even though it was exhausted.

"Riolu," Riolu said, beside him, "Rio, Rio!" Harry looked down at Riolu who was looking at him with a worried expression. Harry took a deep breath and his expression softened.

"I know it's not Glaceon's fault," he said, "It's just that we were so close! I really though she was going to beat it." He recalled Glaceon, "I guess I got overconfident. Thanks for trying, Glaceon."

"Rio, Riolu," Riolu said looking at Harry with a determined expression. Harry looked down at him, then at Darkrai. Riolu had type advantage but Darkrai had much more experience and raw power. However power and experience weren't everything in a Pokemon battle. Tobias had managed to penetrate Bronzong's defences by thinking outside the box. Harry needed to do the same.

"Alright Riolu, battle position," he said and Riolu bounded onto the battlefield, "Double Aura Sphere!"

"Shadow Claw!" called Tobias as Riolu fired two balls of Aura. Darkrai slashed both Aura Spheres apart with one swipe of each Shadow Claw, "Now use Dark Pulse!" Darkrai unleashed a beam of black rings which blew Riolu off his feet. Riolu flinched, scared by the power of the Dark type move, "Darkrai use Dark Void!"

"Dark," rumbled Darkrai and threw a black orb at Riolu.

"Riolu get out of the way!" Harry roared and at the last second Riolu sprang into action, shooting away from the Dark Void so quickly that even his own trainer was caught off guard. Harry quickly recovered as he realized Riolu's Steadfast Ability had kicked in. This was his chance, "Copycat!"

"Rio!" cried Riolu memorizing Dark Void and creating it before throwing it at Darkrai. Both Darkrai and Tobias were so surprised about the Pitch Black Pokemon's own Signature Move being used against it that neither reacted in time. The Dark Void surrounded Darkrai then faded and revealed the Legendary Pokemon lying on the ground, fast asleep.

"Darkrai!" cried Tobias.

"Not nice is it?" Harry said, "Aura Sphere!" Riolu formed Aura Sphere, this time only using one so that he could focus all of his Aura power into it. He let it grow and hurled it at Darkrai, blasting it backwards, "Now use Quick Attack!" Darkrai hadn't even hit the ground before Riolu rammed into it with all the strength and speed his tiny body possessed, driving the Legendary Pokemon right back into the wall, "And finish with Force Palm!"

"Riooolu!" cried Riolu slamming both palms into Darkrai's chest and unleashing two powerful blasts of yellow light which created an explosion. Riolu backflipped out of the smoke, looking no worse for the wear.

When the smoke cleared, Darkrai was wedged into a crater Riolu's Force Palm had created in the wall. People in the stands above had to lean over the wall to see what had happened to it.

There was a long silence.

"Darkrai is unable to battle," the referee said finally, "Riolu wins!"

"I can't believe it!" yelled the commentator as the crowd exploded into applause, clapping and cheering wildly, "For the first time in this entire tournament, Tobias' Darkrai has been defeated! Now we wait the identity of Tobias' second Pokemon!"

"So who's next?" asked Harry, "Latios, Latias or something else?"

"Well the only trainer who has ever defeated all three of my Legendary Pokemon is Brandon," Tobias said, "I'm interested to see whether you are strong enough to do the same. So I choose Latios!"

"Latios!" cried Latios as he burst out of the Poke Ball and made an unnecessarily flashy entrance just like he had with Brandon, shooting past Harry and Riolu, rising into the air and spinning before descending and hovering in front of his trainer.

"Does Latios always do that?" asked Harry.

"He likes to show off," Tobias admitted.

"Riolu return," Harry called but to his surprise Riolu shook his head. Harry looked at his Starter Pokemon in confusion, "Riolu?"

"Riolu," said Riolu, glancing back at Harry. The Emanation Pokemon smiled slightly and a silent understanding passed between him and his trainer. Harry knew that Riolu was finally ready.

A white glow surrounded Riolu's tiny body and he started to grow. People in the crowd gasped. Harry's friends all stood up. Harry watched his best friend's evolution silently. He wasn't sure why he was crying.

" _I'm ready,_ " said a voice in Harry's mind as soon as Riolu's transformation was complete. Harry's eyes widened. Lucario looked at him out of the corner of his eye and smirked, " _Aura and Psychic powers equal telepathy._ "

"But you don't have Psychic powers," Harry said. Everyone stared at him, unsure why he had randomly said that. None of them could hear Lucario's telepathic voice. Even Tobias wore an expression that showed he thought Harry was being weird.

" _I had a Psychic Hidden Power remember?"_ Lucario pointed out and turned back to Latios, who now looked much more interested than he had a moment ago, " _Now let's do this!_ " Harry smiled and nodded.

"Alright Tobias!" he called, "Lucario and I are ready!"

"Good," Tobias said, "Let's do our best."

"With pleasure," Harry replied, "Lucario, Aura Sphere!" Lucario hurled an Aura Sphere which was larger than any Aura Sphere he had ever used as a Riolu. Nonetheless, Latios shrugged it off easily.

"Luster Purge!" ordered Tobias and Latios fired a huge pink beam of energy from his mouth.

"Quick Attack!" ordered Harry and Lucario darted forwards, dodging the Luster Purge and slamming into Latios.

"Dragon Claw!" ordered Tobias and Latios slashed Lucario with blue claws, knocking him off his feet. Lucario rolled onto his feet as though nothing had happened, "Now use Luster Purge!" Latios fired Luster Purge at Lucario and blasted the Aura Pokemon into the wall of the stadium.

"Lucario!" Harry called. He sighed with relief when Lucario staggered back onto the battlefield. Three glowing claws extended from the spikes on the back of each hand. Lucario lunged and slashed Latios with the Metal Claw, causing the surprised Legendary Pokemon to yelp in pain. "Great Lucario! Now use Force Palm!"

"Lucar!" Lucario could speak telepathically but his actual voice sounded like that of a normal Lucario. He slammed his palm into Latios chest and blasted yellow energy out of it, knocking the Eon Pokemon backwards.

"Latios use Dragon Claw!" ordered Tobias and Latios darted back towards Lucario with his claws glowing blue.

"Counter!" Harry shouted and Lucario glowed red, turning Latios' Dragon Claw against him with twice the power. The attack nearly knocked Lucario out however and Tobias noticed his exhaustion.

"Quick, Luster Purge!"

"Dodge it and use two Aura Spheres!" Harry ordered and Lucario threw himself into a roll to avoid Luster Purge before forming an Aura Sphere in front of both palms and firing them, one after the other towards Latios. Latios grunted in annoyance and Tobias frowned.

"Recover!" he ordered and Latios glowed yellow, which was exactly what Harry had been hoping he would do. Having witnessed Latias use Recover against Brandon, Harry had guessed that Latios, being Latias' counterpart, would also know the move.

"Copycat!" he called and Lucario mimicked Latios' Recover and restored half of his own energy.

"Latios, Draco Meteor!" Tobias bellowed and Latios fired Draco Meteor into the air.

"Quick Attack!" ordered Harry and Lucario darted between the meteors, avoiding each and every one. Suddenly Latios was right in front of him and both Harry and Lucario cursed themselves for forgetting how Tobias had used Draco Meteor against Brandon's Regice.

"Luster Purge!" ordered Tobias and Latios blasted Lucario with Luster Purge at point blank range, sending the Aura Pokemon flying. Lucario smashed into the wall once again.

"Lucario are you okay?" Harry said and Lucario staggered back onto the battlefield, "Quick Attack!" Lucario darted towards Latios.

"Dodge it and use Dragon Claw!" ordered Tobias and Latios darted to the side, turned and slashed Lucario with Dragon Claw. The Aura Pokémon rolled onto his feet just like before, his Steel typing enabling him to take the Dragon type move without too much difficulty.

"Metal Claw!" Harry ordered and Lucario leapt into the air and slashed Latios first with the claws on his right hand, then with the claws on his left, knocking the Eon Pokémon to the ground.

"Luster Purge!" Tobias ordered and Latios, who was still on the ground, formed a pink orb in front of his mouth which then extended into a beam. Luster Purge slammed into Lucario and sent him flying backwards. He crashed to the ground and Latios hovered back into the air, keeping a wary eye on the Aura Pokémon in case he got up again. This time however, Lucario was down and out.

"Lucario is unable to battle, Latios wins!"

"Great job Lucario," Harry said and recalled his Starter Pokemon, "You really wore Latios down. Garchomp battle position!" Garchomp roared as he burst out of his Poke Ball, "Use Dragon Rage!"

"Luster Purge!" Tobias countered and the yellow orb and pink beam collided, creating a huge explosion.

"Dragon Rush!" Harry ordered and Garchomp shot through the smoke like a blue rocket.

"Dodge then Dragon Claw!" ordered Tobias and Latios ascended, causing Garchomp to shoot underneath him before slashing Dragon Claw straight down on the Mach Pokemon's back, sending Garchomp crashing to the ground, "Now use Luster Purge!"

"Tiiiiooos!" cried Latios as he fired a massive pink beam. Garchomp looked up, snarled and crossed both fins over his body. Unfortunately he hadn't had time to regain his balance before Luster Purge was fired, so although his fins absorbed some of the damage, the attack still knocked him off his feet.

"Draco Meteor!" Harry ordered and Garchomp fired Draco Meteor into the air.

"Dodge it!" cried Tobias and Latios darted between the meteors.

"Get in close!" Harry shouted and Garchomp tried to use Latios' own strategy against him but Tobias had been expecting that.

"Dragon Claw!" he ordered and rather than flinch or try to retreat when Garchomp appeared in front of him, Latios instead lunged forwards and slashed him right across the face.

"Dragon Rage!"

"Luster Purge!"

There was another explosion as the attacks collided. Garchomp shielded himself from some of the blast with his fins.

"Latios use Dragon Claw!" ordered Tobias and Latios lunged through the smoke.

"Crunch!" Harry ordered and Garchomp shifted subtly causing Dragon Claw to pass his face before he snapped his sharp fangs shut on Latios' arm, causing him to scream in pain. Garchomp swung his head and hurled Latios with all his strength.

"Latios, Shadow Ball!" ordered Tobias and Latios formed a black ball of shadowy energy in front of his mouth and fired it at Garchomp. Harry was caught off guard, having never witnessed Latios using Shadow Ball before. The attack slammed into Garchomp's chest, causing him to stagger back.

"Garchomp strike back with Dragonbreath!" Harry ordered and Garchomp fired a stream of white flames shot from his mouth which engulfed Latios who screamed in pain.

"Latios finish this with Giga Impact!" roared Tobias.

"Dragon Rush go!" Harry retaliated. Garchomp shot straight towards Latios surrounded by blue energy while Latios charged inside purple and yellow energy. The two Pokemon collided and there was a huge explosion.

When the smoke cleared, Garchomp was still standing and Latios was still levitating. The two Dragon types glared at each other for a long moment.

Finally both of them collapsed.

"Garchomp and Latios are both unable to battle!"

"What an incredible match folks!" cried the commentator, "While Harry is down to his last Pokemon, it is because of him that we've had the privilege to witness the use of not one, but two Legendary Pokemon! But can Harry's last Pokemon defeat Tobias' four remaining Pokemon by itself?"

"She can damn well try," Harry said, "Vespiquen, battle position!" Vespiquen emerged and buzzed defiantly. Tobias smiled slightly as he recalled Latios.

"You've battled well and earned my respect," he said, "If you defeat Latias, I'll reveal my Starter Pokemon to you. But Latias is much more experienced than her son. Go!" Latias appeared and Harry raised an eyebrow in surprise as he registered what Tobias had just revealed.

"Latias is Latios' mother?" he said.

"Yes," Tobias said, "I found her with Latios' egg while they were being hunted by a woman named J."

"I know her," Harry said, "Although she's presumed to be dead now."

"Good," Tobias said rather coldly, "That woman was nothing but trouble. Now then let's finish this battle."

"Alright then Vespiquen, use Silver Wind!" Harry ordered and Vespiquen flapped her wings hard, causing silvery wind to wash over Latias, who winced in pain.

"Thunderbolt!" ordered Tobias and Latias unleashed a powerful electric shock from her body, causing Vespiquen to shriek in pain, "Now Dragon Claw!"

"Use Slash!" Harry countered and Vespiquen recovered from Thunderbolt almost immediately and lunged as Latias' claws were surrounded by blue draconic energy. The two Pokemon slashed each other at the same moment, knocking each other away, "Now Power Gem!"

"Hyper Beam!" ordered Tobias as Vespiquen threw a Power Gem. Latias fired a massive Hyper Beam which blasted right through the Power Gem and sent Vespiquen crashing to the ground.

"Come on Vespiquen, show Latias how tough you are!" Harry encouraged and Vespiquen hauled herself up, "Roost!" Vespiquen planted her big backside on the ground and glowed white, not having to worry about Latias attacking her whilst she was recovering due to Hyper Beam's side effect, "Alright now use Silver Wind!"

"Vespi!" cried Vespiquen and shot out another Silver Wind, blowing Latias hard into the ground.

"Recover!" ordered Tobias and Latias glowed yellow. Harry smirked slightly.

"Power Gem, then Gust!" he ordered and Vespiquen launched a huge yellow orb before speeding up its momentum with Gust. The combination sent Latias crashing into the wall.

"Latias!" cried Tobias. Latias moaned but floated back towards the battlefield, although she was moving as though she would pass out at any minute, "Draco Meteor!" Latias fired Draco Meteor into the air.

"Protect!" ordered Harry and Vespiquen shielded herself as meteors rained down on her.

"Recover!" ordered Tobias and while Vespiquen was distracted by Draco Meteor, Latias glowed yellow and restored her energy again, "Now use Thunderbolt!"

"Dodge and use Silver Wind!" Harry ordered as Latias fired Thunderbolt. Vespiquen ascended and then flapped her wings and shot silvery wind at Latias.

"Ascend and use Dragon Claw back to back!" Tobias ordered and Latias flew up, dodging Silver Wind and closing in on Vespiquen.

"Slash back to back!" Harry ordered and Vespiquen lunged. The two females started slashing each other relentlessly, twirling and swooping around each other as though dancing. Each time one landed a blow, the other would retaliate with one of their own. However Harry suddenly realised that Vespiquen was getting too high.

"Recover!" ordered Tobias and Latias broke off her assault for a moment to heal her wounds. Vespiquen took advantage of the opening and slashed her again but Latias shrugged it off and smirked, "Mist Ball!"

"Protect and get back to the ground!" Harry ordered and Vespiquen hastily defended herself from the orb of Psychic mist with a green barrier, before trying to use the mist to block Latias vision while she descended.

"Don't let her reach the ground!" Tobias ordered and Latias darted after Vespiquen, overtaking her before turning around, "Mist Ball!"

"Power Gem!" Harry countered and two balls of energy exploded in midair.

"Tobias' strategy is to stop Vespiquen from using Roost!" Brock realized.

"If only Heal Order didn't cause mass murder," groaned Dawn. Above them, Vespiquen was trying to manoeuvre her way around Latias but the Eon Pokemon kept blocking her.

"Vespiquen's just going to tire herself out," Tobias said, "She's strong, but she's not fast enough to outmanoeuvre Latias. Use Thunderbolt!" Latias unleashed another powerful Thunderbolt and Vespiquen shrieked in pain.

"Don't give up Vespiquen!" Harry yelled, "Use Silver Wind!" Vespiquen somehow managed to find the strength to unleash another Silver Wind even whilst being electrocuted.

"But how…?" Tobias gasped, staring at Vespiquen in astonishment as Latias was blown backwards with a yelp of pain.

"Use Slash!

"Dragon Claw!"

Vespiquen and Latias lunged, eyes narrowed and claws at the ready. They slashed each other as they passed and stopped behind each other on opposite sides of the battlefield.

There was a long silence. Vespiquen and Latias looked at each other out of the corners of their eyes.

Latias winced but didn't fall.

Vespiquen fell to the ground, unable to continue.

"Vespiquen is unable to battle, Latias wins and that means the victory goes to Tobias!"

The crowd cheered loudly. Tobias walked over to his Latias who descended and hovered in front of him. Tobias didn't say anything but gave Latias a small smile. She smiled back as Tobias recalled her. Meanwhile Harry recalled Vespiquen and smiled sadly at her Poke Ball.

"You fought really hard, Vespiquen," Harry said, "You deserve a long rest." He looked up at Tobias who stood watching him. Tobias held out a hand.

"I think congratulations are in order," he said, "I confess I was expecting to sweep through this entire tournament with just Darkrai, so thank you for providing me with an actual challenge."

"Thank you for giving me a battle I'll never forget," Harry said and shook Tobias' hand, "I hope we can battle again someday."

"As do I," Tobias replied.


	70. The Sinnoh League Part 4

Ash and Paul had both made it into the final four and now stood facing each other, ready for their second full battle. The winner would be moving on to face Tobias in the final round. Harry, Brock, Dawn and Holly were all sitting behind Ash. Lucario was sitting beside Harry, almost as if he was a human spectator, although he often shifted because the seats weren't designed for Pokémon and his tail made sitting on them uncomfortable.

"Maybe you should go in your Poke Ball, Lucario," Harry said.

" _No I want to see this,_ " Lucario replied, settling himself in as comfortable a position as he could manage.

"Pikachu, let's go," Ash said and Pikachu nodded and jumped onto the battlefield.

"Aggron stand by for battle!" cried Paul sending out the evolved form of Lairon who, unlike both of its pre-evolutions, stood on its hind legs. In the stands, Dawn took out her pokedex.

" _Aggron the Iron Armour Pokemon and evolved form of Lairon. It claims an entire mountain as its own territory and mercilessly attacks any intruders._ "

"Pikachu use Iron Tail!" Ash ordered and Pikachu leapt towards Aggron with his tail glowing.

"Iron Defense!" ordered Paul and Aggron hardened its body and allowed Iron Tail to smack it in the face. It shrugged off the blow easily and smirked, "Flash Cannon!" Aggron opened its mouth and fired a silver beam at Pikachu.

"Light Screen!" Ash ordered and Pikachu set up a barrier of yellow light, barely flinching as Flash Cannon exploded against Light Screen. Paul was caught off guard, having not expected Pikachu to know a defensive move. "Pikachu return!" Pikachu hurried back to Ash's side before Aggron could attack again, "Infernape, I choose you!" Infernape appeared, glaring at his former trainer before focussing on Aggron. Paul recovered from his surprise quickly and stared at Infernape without any emotion.

"Aggron use Double Edge!" he ordered and Aggron glowed yellow and thundered towards Infernape.

"Flare Blitz!" ordered Ash. Infernape focussed hard and the flame on his head turned blue and the blue fire spread around his entire body. Infernape lunged forwards and collided with Aggron. Although Flare Blitz was now fully mastered, Aggron's sheer physical strength enabled it to match Infernape's attack even without a STAB boost. The impact of the collision knocked them both backwards, but only Infernape suffered recoil damage.

"Aggron's got Rock Head," Harry noted and the others nodded.

"Aggron, Dragon Claw!" Paul ordered and Aggron's claws became surrounded by blue fire as it slashed at Infernape.

"Close Combat!" Ash ordered and Infernape remembered how Flint's Infernape deflected attacks before striking back. He grabbed Aggron's arm and stepped aside, causing Dragon Claw to pass him harmlessly, before slamming his knee into Aggron's gut and pummelling it with a flurry of punches and kicks.

"Quick use Iron Tail!" Paul ordered and Aggron's huge tail glowed white and it swung it towards Infernape.

"Dodge and use use Flamethrower!" ordered Ash and Infernape jumped away from the Iron Tail, flipped onto his hands then back onto his feet and fired stream of flames, causing Aggron to roar with pain. When the Flamethrower ended, Aggron collapsed to the ground.

"Aggron is unable to battle, Infernape wins!"

"Aggron didn't stand a chance against Infernape," Harry said smugly, "It was way too slow to keep up with him."

Paul recalled Aggron with a dismissive grunt and sent out his next Pokemon, shouting, "Gastrodon stand by for battle!" Unlike Cynthia's Gastrodon, this one was green and blue.

"Infernape return," Ash said recalling Infernape, "Torterra, I choose you!" The Continent Pokemon appeared and Paul smirked.

"Ice Beam!" he ordered and Gastrodon fired a powerful Ice Beam from its mouth. Light Screen appeared and absorbed half of the damage but Torterra still grunted with pain.

"Torterra's a Grass and Ground type so even with Light Screen, Ice type moves are really gonna hurt," Holly said.

"Torterra Energy Ball!" ordered Ash and Torterra fired a ball of Grass type energy which slammed into Gastrodon, knocking it backwards.

"Recover!" ordered Paul and Gastrodon glowed yellow to restore its energy, "Now use Ice Beam!"

"Torterra Rock Climb!" ordered Ash and Torterra's claws extended and he reared up and stomped on the ground causing a mountain to burst up beneath Gastrodon, lifting it into the air. This also caused Gastrodon's Ice Beam to fly harmlessly over Torterra's head. Torterra thundered up the mountain towards the surprised Sea Slug Pokemon.

"Earth Power!" ordered Paul and Gastrodon's body glowed yellow and the mountain began to split apart. Light exploded out of the cracks. Light Screen appeared to absorb the attack but Paul's intention was to shatter the mountain and that's exactly what the Earth Power did. Torterra went tumbling down and rocks from the mountain he had created avalanched down on top of him. Meanwhile Gastrodon jumped clear of the landslide and landed safely opposite the half buried Continent Pokemon, "Now Muddy Water!"

"Gastro!" cried Gastrodon, summoning another Muddy Water which crashed down on Torterra. Light Screen appeared again to weaken the attack and Muddy Water washed away some of the rubble left behind by the failed Rock Climb.

"Torterra Synthesis!" Ash shouted and Torterra started absorbing sunlight in order to heal himself. While he was doing so however, Light Screen wore off.

"Gastrodon Ice Beam!" ordered Paul and as soon as Torterra had finished healing, Gastrodon fired an Ice Beam at him. Torterra roared in agony but then glowed green as Overgrow kicked in.

"That's it Torterra!" Ash called encouragingly, "Use Energy Ball!" Torterra fired another Energy Ball, stronger than the first, which slammed into Gastrodon and smashed it into the wall, knocking it out.

"Gastrodon is unable to battle, Torterra wins!"

Paul shrugged as if he had expected Gastrodon to lose and recalled it. He didn't scold the Poke Ball and Ash had a feeling that Gastrodon had just been used to feel him out rather than actually try and score a victory. Ash grew worried when Paul threw another Poke Ball shouting, "Torterra, stand by for battle!"

"Well folks it's now Torterra vs Torterra!" cried the commentator as Paul's far more experienced Torterra appeared, "Ash's Torterra's victory against Gastrodon could mainly be attributed to its type advantage so lets see how well it does against a member of its own species!"

"Torterra, Leaf Storm!" Ash ordered and his Torterra summoned a mighty, Overgrow boosted Leaf Storm which slammed into Paul's Torterra. The more experienced Continent Pokémon let out a roar of pain and was pushed back several feet. Despite the Leaf Storms considerable power however, Paul's Torterra was still standing when it ended. He smiled slightly and nodded approvingly to Ash's Torterra who smiled back, pleased to have impressed his more experienced opponent.

"Use Hyper Beam!" Paul ordered and Torterra's approving smile disappeared as he opened his mouth and fired a massive yellow beam which exploded violently when it hit Ash's Torterra. The smoke cleared and Ash's Torterra lay unconscious on the ground.

"Ash's Torterra is unable to battle, Paul's Torterra wins!"

"Torterra return," Ash and Paul both said at the same time, with Ash recalling his unconscious Continent Pokemon and Paul recalling his recharging one.

"Froslass, stand by for battle!" Paul called and a Froslass appeared and hovered above the battlefield.

"Pikachu you're up," Ash said and Pikachu nodded and jumped onto the battlefield, "Use Thunderbolt!"

"Ice Beam!" Paul countered and Thunderbolt and Ice Beam collided, creating an explosion, "Now use Hail!" Froslass summoned a swirling hailstorm around her body which spread across the battlefield, causing Pikachu to wince as the Hail pelted him. Froslass started appearing and disappearing around him and Pikachu tried desperately to keep track of her movements, "Shadow Ball now!"

"Lass!" cried Frosslass appearing behind Pikachu and firing a black orb from her hands.

"Light Screen!" Ash called and Pikachu formed a yellow box around his body and Shadow Ball exploded against it, "Now Thunderbolt!"

"Pikachu!" cried Pikachu and Thunderbolt blasted through the Hail and struck the surprised Froslass who squealed in pain.

"Frosslass use Frustration!" Paul ordered.

"Frustration?" Harry said while Brock and Holly scowled and Dawn looked confused.

"It's a move that gets more powerful the more the user dislikes its trainer," Brock said, "And it's also a Physical Attack so Light Screen won't block it."

"Froslass!" cried Froslass angrily and glowed an angry red before lunging towards Pikachu and started flailing her arms and headbutting him furiously.

"It makes sense for Paul to teach his Pokemon that attack," Dawn muttered, scowling.

"You see Ash this is how powerful a Pokemon can get if you don't pamper it," Paul said while Froslass continued beating the hell out of Pikachu, "If I made friends with Froslass, Frustration would be much weaker."

"Pikachu, Iron Tail!" Ash shouted and Pikachu spun around and smashed an Iron Tail into Froslass, knocking her away, "So you treat Froslass badly just to make Frustration powerful? That's low even for you! Pikachu Volt Tackle!" Pikachu charged towards Froslass, shrouding himself in electricity.

"Dodge!" ordered Paul and Froslass disappeared and reappeared behind Pikachu, "Frustration!" Froslass glowed red again as she lunged, preparing to vent her hatred of her trainer on her opponent.

"Pikachu jump!" ordered Ash and Pikachu sprang into the air causing Froslass to shoot underneath him, "Iron Tail!" Pikachu somersaulted and slammed an Iron Tail onto Froslass' back before she could disappear, crushing her into the ground.

"Froslass is unable to battle, Pikachu wins!"

"Great job Pikachu," Ash said and Pikachu beamed at him then winced as he was pelted by Hail.

"You were too slow, Froslass," Paul scolded and both Ash and Pikachu scowled at him as he recalled her, "Torterra, stand by for battle!" Torterra appeared again, wincing as Hail landed on him.

"Pikachu return," Ash said and Pikachu hurried back to his side. The Hail finally wore off as Ash chose his next Pokemon, "Haunter, I choose you!" Haunter appeared and chuckled wickedly. Even Ash's friends were surprised by his choice.

"I thought he'd use the exact same team he used at Lake Acuity," Harry said.

"I think Paul expected that too," Brock said.

"Giga Drain!" Paul ordered, recovering quickly from his surprise and the three spikes on Torterra's back glowed green and extended, reaching towards Haunter.

"Dodge it and use Shadow Ball!" Ash ordered and Haunter disappeared and reappeared on Torterra's left before throwing a Shadow Ball at the larger Pokemon

"Stone Edge!" Paul countered and Torterra created spinning stones around his body, forming a Counter Shield to block the Shadow Ball before firing the stones at Haunter. The Ghost type didn't wait for Ash's command. He simply disappeared again and reappeared a safe distance away, laughing as if the battle was a game to him. Paul scowled.

"Haunter use Confuse Ray!" ordered Ash and Haunter's eyes glowed purple and he shot a Confuse Ray at Torterra.

"Return," Paul said, holding out Torterra's Poke Ball but Ash had expected that.

"Mean Look!" he ordered and Haunter's eyes glowed black and a black ring surrounded Torterra, preventing Paul from recalling him. For the first time, Paul's confidence was shaken. He had not prepared to deal with a Haunter.

"Looks like Ash has Paul on the ropes for once," Harry said.

"Haunter use Shadow Ball again!" Ash ordered.

"Stone Edge!" Paul called and there was a hint of desperation in his voice. Torterra didn't seem to hear him and received a Shadow Ball right in the face. Haunter and Ash were both grinning, enjoying seeing Paul squirm for once, "Come on Torterra! Snap out of it!" Torterra looked towards his trainer who was glaring at him. Then he fired a Hyper Beam straight towards Paul. Paul dodged it just in time and stared at his Starter Pokémon in shock.

"If you'd bothered to bond with Torterra, you'd have a better chance of snapping it out of its confusion," Ash said nonchalantly, "Shadow Ball again!" Haunter blasted Torterra with yet another Shadow Ball. Paul hadn't felt so helpless in a very long time. He couldn't believe that his most powerful Pokémon was getting creamed. This was worse than when Torterra had lost to Cynthia's Garchomp and Harry's Vespiquen. At least in those battles, he had actually hit them.

Then Torterra's Overgrow activated.

"No problem Haunter," Ash said confidently, "Just finish it with another Shadow Ball!" Haunter chuckled wickedly and created another Shadow Ball.

Torterra looked up at the ball and vaguely registered the fact that it would hurt if it hit him. He heard Paul screaming "Leaf Storm!" He had never heard his trainer sound so desperate before. It was quite satisfying but it also made Torterra realize that unless he fought back, this Shadow Ball was going to knock him out.

"Torteeeerra!" bellowed Torterra shaking off the confusion and blasting a huge Leaf Storm from his tree. The Leaf Storm blew the Shadow Ball right back towards Haunter and both moves sent the Ghost type crashing into the wall.

"Haunter!" Ash yelled.

"Haunter is unable to battle, Torterra wins!"

Paul let out a sigh of relief and decided that Torterra's victory deserved a compliment. "A job well done, Torterra." Torterra looked back at him in surprise, then nodded.

"That's okay Haunter," Ash said as he recalled him, "Thanks to you Torterra's exhausted. Gliscor, I choose you!" Gliscor appeared and hovered above Torterra.

"Return," Paul said and Torterra disappeared into his Poke Ball, "Venomoth stand by for battle!" A moth like Pokémon appeared and hovered in front of Gliscor.

" _Venomoth the Poison Moth Pokémon and evolved form of Venonat. When it attacks, it flaps its large wings violently to scatter its poisonous powder all around_."

"Gliscor use Aerial Ace!" Ash ordered and Gliscor surrounded herself with white streaks and dived, slamming into Venomoth.

"Venomoth Toxic Spikes!" ordered Paul and Venomoth created a purple orb in front of its body and fired it into the air. The orb burst open and purple energy descended and sank into the battlefield. Gliscor looked down at the battlefield in confusion, then refocused on Venomoth.

"Aerial Ace one more time!" Ash shouted and Gliscor shot towards Venomoth once more, surrounded by white streaks.

"Use Psychic!" ordered Paul and Venomoth's eyes glowed blue and blue energy surrounded Gliscor, stopping her in mid-air before she could reach the Poison Moth Pokémon. Venomoth's eyes flicked down and Gliscor was sent crashing into the ground. She screamed in pain as Toxic Spikes kicked in.

"Gliscor use Stone Edge!" Ash ordered but Gliscor created sharp stones which spun around her body and then went flying towards Venomoth.

"Psychic!" ordered Paul and Venomoth telekinetically stopped all the stones in mid-air before sending them all flying back into Gliscor.

"Gliscor return!" Ash said and recalled her, "Buizel, I choose you!" The Sea Weasel Pokémon appeared and was instantly affected by Toxic Spikes, "Just ignore that Buizel and use Aqua Jet!" Buizel surrounded himself with water and shot towards Venomoth.

"Psychic!" ordered Paul and Venomoth used Psychic to stop Buizel in mid-air before smashing him into the ground, "Now use Silver Wind!" Venomoth flapped its wings and silvery wind shot out and slammed into Buizel.

"Buizel use Hydro Pump!" Ash yelled and Buizel used his newest attack, which he had mastered with help from Harry's Floatzel. A powerful stream of water, three times as powerful as Water Gun, shot out of his mouth and slammed into Venomoth knocking it backwards.

"Venomoth use Energy Ball!" Paul ordered and Venomoth formed a green orb in front of its body, then flapped its wings once and sent the orb flying towards Buizel.

"Dodge and use Sonicboom!" ordered Ash and Buizel sprang into the air then launched a Sonicboom from his tails.

"Dodge it and use Supersonic!" ordered Paul and Venomoth dodged Sonicboom and then shot out sound waves which washed over Buizel and confused him. Buizel landed on the ground and then started beating himself over the head with his fists. He stopped when the poison from Toxic Spikes kicked in and fell on one knee, "Venomoth Silver Wind!"

"Moth!" cried Venomoth and shot more silvery wind over Buizel, knocking him out.

"Buizel is unable to battle, Venomoth wins!"

"You should have evolved it," Paul grunted. Ash ignored him as he recalled Buizel.

"Pikachu, are you ready?" he asked. Pikachu nodded and jumped onto the battlefield, wincing as Toxic Spikes kicked in, "Use Quick Attack!" Pikachu darted towards Venomoth at top speed.

"Dodge and use Supersonic!" ordered Paul and Venomoth ascended to avoid Quick Attack before using Supersonic to confuse Pikachu.

"Pikachu Thunderbolt!" Ash yelled but instead Pikachu surrounded himself with Volt Tackle and went charging towards the wall. Venomoth and Paul watched in mild amusement but their amusement vanished when Ash threw himself between Pikachu and the wall, taking a very nasty electric shock in the process.

"What on earth!" yelled the commentator while the crowd gasped.

"Typical Ash," muttered Harry. Beside him, Lucario peered over the wall to see if Ash and Pikachu were okay.

"Pikachu are you okay?" Ash said. Pikachu looked up at him and smiled, then winced from Toxic Spikes, "Can you still battle?" Pikachu nodded and jumped back onto the battlefield.

"That was stupid," Paul grunted, "Use Energy Ball!" Venomoth fired an Energy Ball at Pikachu.

"Dodge and use Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted and Pikachu jumped over the Energy Ball and launched a powerful Thunderbolt. Venomoth screamed in pain and fell to the ground. Pikachu landed, then glowed purple as Toxic Spikes hurt him again. He also collapsed.

"Pikachu and Venomoth are both unable to battle!"

Ash stepped onto the battlefield, half expecting Toxic Spikes to affect him but fortunately his shoes prevented the entry hazard from damaging him. He picked up Pikachu, being careful not to touch the ground and carried him back to his side of the battlefield. Meanwhile Paul recalled Venomoth, hesitated, then grunted, "Well done," before sending out Torterra once more.

"Gilscor let's go!" cried Ash and Gliscor appeared, hovering over Torterra who was still tired from his battle with Haunter, "Use Sand Attack!" Gliscor used her claws to throw sand in Torterra's eyes.

"Giga Drain!" Paul ordered and Torterra blindly shot a Giga Drain towards Gliscor who dodged it easily. Gliscor then winced from the Toxic Spikes.

"Gliscor Stone Edge!" Ash ordered and Gliscor sent a Stone Edge slamming town on Torterra. The Continent Pokémon grunted but then Overgrow reactivated, "Not again!"

"Leaf Storm!" ordered Paul and Torterra shot a mighty Leaf Storm at Gliscor.

"Dodge and use Fire Fang!" Ash yelled and Gliscor narrowly avoided Leaf Storm, swooped down and clamped her blazing fangs onto Torterra's tree, setting the leaves on fire. Torterra yelled as his entire body caught fire and collapsed. Gliscor flew away then winced as Toxic Spikes caused more damage.

"Torterra is unable to battle, Gliscor wins!"

Paul took out the Poke Ball containing his last Pokemon, "Well done Ash. You're certainly a lot stronger than you were at Lake Acuity. Electivire, stand by for battle!" The Thunderbolt Pokemon emerged and smirked at Gliscor.

"Gliscor use Stone Edge!" Ash ordered and Gliscor fired a Stone Edge towards Electivire.

"Jump and use Brick Break!" Paul ordered and Electivire used his tails to propel himself into the air before raising a hand and slamming a Brick Break onto Gliscor's head, knocking her out.

"Gliscor is unable to battle, Electivire wins!"

"Great job Gliscor," Ash said, "You did your best and I won't let your hard work go to waste. Infernape, I choose you!" Infernape had only taken a bit of recoil damage from battling Aggron so Ash had been careful to save him for last throughout the rest of the battle. The Flame Pokemon emerged and was instantly affected by Toxic Spikes but shrugged it off and glared at his old rival, "Infernape, Flamethrower!"

"Infernape!" yelled Infernape and shot a powerful stream of flames towards Electivire.

"Thunder!" ordered Paul and Electivire countered with a powerful blast of electricity. Strictly speaking, Thunder should have been stronger than Flamethrower but Electivire was more of a physical fighter so in the end the attacks were evenly matched.

"Use Mach Punch!" ordered Ash and Infernape lunged through the smoke with his fist glowing white.

"Thunder Punch!" countered Paul and Electivire's fist crackled with electricity. The two fists collided, creating an explosion and some throbbing knuckles as the impact blasted both Pokemon away from each other. Infernape then glowed purple as the poison hurt him, "Thunder!" Electivire shot a huge electrical blast at Infernape who screamed in pain as he was electrocuted, "Now Giga Impact!"

"Electivire!" boomed Electivire, surrounding himself with a purple and yellow cocoon before charging at Infernape.

"Dig!" ordered Ash and Infernape dove underground to avoid Giga Impact. Since Electivire was recharging, he couldn't use Protect to defend himself when Infernape reemerged and was therefore sent flying by the Dig attack. Infernape then flinched from the poison, "Mach Punch!"

"Thunder Punch!" ordered Paul as Infernape lunged. Electivire and Infernape punched each other in the face at the same time, knocking each other away.

"Flamethrower!" Ash ordered and Infernape shot another stream of flames.

"Light Screen!" countered Paul and Electivire set up a yellow screen to absorb half of the damage. Infernape then flinched as the poison hurt him again.

"Mach Punch!" ordered Ash and Infernape slammed another Mach Punch into Electivire's face, knocking it off its feet.

"Electivire use Thunder!" ordered Paul and Electivire was upright in an instant and launching another massive electrical blast at Infernape.

"Dig!" ordered Ash and Infernape dove into the ground once more causing the electricity to pass over the hole harmlessly.

"Protect!" Paul ordered and Electivire created a barrier which Infernape bounced off harmlessly when he emerged, "Thunder Punch!"

"Close Combat!" Ash ordered and just like he had with Aggron's Dragon Claw, Infernape deflected Thunder Punch, slammed his knee into Electivire's stomach and started pounding him with a flurry of punches and kicks.

"Grab it!" ordered Paul and in the middle of Infernape's assault, Electivire reached out with both tails, wrapping them around both of Infernape's wrists. Electivire then looked at Infernape was an expression that could only be described as evil. Both Electivire and Infernape knew exactly what Paul was going to say next, "Thunder!"

"ELECTIVIRE!" roared Electivire and unleashed Thunder at point blank range. This was far more painful than receiving Thunder from a distance. Infernape screamed in pure agony. In the stands Holly actually looked away, shocked by the sheer brutality of the attack. Brock, Harry, Dawn and Lucario watched grimly, used to this kind of viciousness from Paul and silently praying that Infernape could hold on.

Finally the Thunder stopped. Infernape glowed purple again and collapsed. Electivire stepped back.

"Infernape is unable to…"

"Vire," Electivire shook his head, noticing something that the referee didn't. Infernape's hand had clenched into a fist. Electivire beckoned to his rival, wanting to finish this battle properly, "Electivire! Electivire!"

Infernape caught Electivire's eye. The Thunderbolt Pokemon wasn't mocking him but encouraging him. Infernape looked at Paul who watched with his usual callousness. All the abuse Infernape had gone through while he was a Chimchar flashed through his mind. He saw Paul's mouth move and although he couldn't hear the word, he knew exactly what Paul had just said.

"Pathetic."

"IINFEEERNAAAAAPE!" screamed Infernape and the flames in his head grew massive as a fiery aura Blazed around his body. Some people in the stands had to shield their eyes from the intensity of Infernape's fire as he screamed at Paul in defiance. Paul's cold façade faltered slightly when he saw the almost murderous look Infernape was giving him. Right now, Electivire was probably the only thing stopping Infernape from burning his former trainer to a crisp.

"Infernape, Flamethrower!" Ash yelled and Infernape shot a massive Flamethrower at Electivire. Light Screen appeared but seemed like a feeble defense against such a powerful attack because Electivire still screamed in pain.

"Electivire, Thunder Punch!" Paul yelled with a hint of panic in his voice. Electivire clenched his fists and electricity crackled around them as he charged at Infernape. Both Ash and Infernape smirked.

"Flare Blitz!" Ash yelled and Infernape surrounded himself with blue flames and charged straight at Electivire. As powerful as the Thunderbolt Pokemon was, Thunder Punch didn't stand a chance against Flare Blitz, especially one that was boosted by Blaze. Electivire was overwhelmed by the attack and sent crashing to the ground. Infernape landed opposite him and winced as the recoil damage kicked in.

Then, incredibly, Electivire stood up. He was scorched and exhausted but he still somehow managed to find the strength to stand. Opposite him, Infernape glared angrily.

Poison surged through Infernape's body. He fell to his knees, desperately fighting to stay conscious. Electivire smiled approvingly.

Then Electivire fainted.

"Electivire is unable to battle, Infernape wins. The victory goes to Ash Ketchum!"

"Alright!" Ash cried, punching the air. Dawn jumped up and down in delight, Brock, Holly and Lucario beamed and even Harry decided to punch the air, something he rarely did. The rest of the crowd cheered and clapped. Ash rushed over to Infernape who was too exhausted to get back onto his feet but nonetheless had a triumphant smile on his face, "That was awesome Infernape! We finally beat Paul!"

"Infernape," Infernape replied, then finally succumbed to the poison.

"You deserve a nice long rest," Ash said and recalled the Flame Pokemon before looking up at Paul. To his surprise Paul was crouching in front of Electivire. Ash waited for him to say something harsh but Paul's next words surprised him.

"Well done," Paul said just loudly enough for Ash to hear, "Good battle, Electivire." Electivire was surprised. Unlike most of Paul's Pokemon, he didn't dislike his trainer because, like Paul, Electivire valued strength and hated weakness. However Paul had rarely complimented him before and _never_ praised him after he lost a battle. Electivire smiled slightly as Paul recalled him and straightened up.

Paul looked at Ash who stared back at him. Finally Paul gave Ash a very small smile and a nod of respect. Then he turned and walked out of the arena.

* * *

"I'm afraid Infernape won't be able to battle in the final," Nurse Joy told Ash apologetically, "You need to let him rest. Toxic Spikes and especially that close range Thunder have really taken their toll."

"That's okay," Ash said, "Infernape deserves a break. Thanks." Nurse Joy nodded and Ash turned to Infernape who was lying on the operating table, "Don't worry about the final Infernape. You just rest."

"Fernape," Infernape smiled and nodded slightly while Nurse Joy's Chansey used Softboiled to sooth his injuries.

* * *

Paul was walking away from the Pokemon League when Ash caught up with him.

"Paul!" Ash called. Paul stopped and turned to him. Apart from Pikachu, who was perched on Ash's shoulder, the two teenagers were alone, "You're leaving?"

"I lost," Paul said with a shrug and to Ash's surprise there was no trace of bitterness in his voice, "There's no need for me to stay. I'm gonna return to Snowpoint City and request another battle with Brandon."

"Well good luck," Ash said.

"Thanks," Paul said then hesitated before saying, "I was wrong about Infernape. It's grown really strong. I shouldn't have taken it for granted."

"I'm so glad to hear you say that," Ash said with a smile.

"Will you be using him to battle Tobias?" asked Paul.

"Infernape needs a long rest, so no I won't be using him," Ash said, "Luckily I've got an old friend to take his place."

"An old friend?" Paul asked.

"Wanna meet him?" asked Ash, "I was saving him as a surprise for when I battle Tobias but since you're leaving I might as well show you." He took out a Poke Ball and opened it. The only one of his Pokemon whom Harry and Dawn had not met before appeared. Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder and landed on Charizard's instead. Charizard smiled at his old friend.

"A Charizard," Paul said and smiled slightly, "Do you think it can match up to Tobias' Legendary Pokemon?"

"I know he can," Ash said, "Charizard was the first one of my Pokemon to ever defeat a Legendary."

"Which one?"

"Articuno."

"Well Charizard had type advantage in that battle," Paul warned, "Against Darkrai, Latios and Latias it might not do so well."

"I believe in Charizard," Ash said, "Just like I believe in all my Pokemon."

Paul was silent as he examined Charizard and Pikachu. The two Pokemon looked happy. None of Paul's Pokemon had ever looked at him with such affection before. Paul had never given them any reason to and for half a decade he couldn't care less what his Pokemon thought of him. However ever since Harry's Vespiquen had defeated his Torterra, part of him had been wondering if his approach to Pokemon training was wrong. Now that Ash had also defeated him in a far more important battle, Paul knew that he needed to change.

"Well good luck," Paul said finally.

"You too," Ash said. Paul raised a hand in a gesture of farewell, then turned and walked away. Ash watched him leave, knowing that Paul was leaving this competition as a better person than he had been when he entered it.

* * *

Ash was in the final. If he could just defeat Tobias he would have the opportunity to battle the Elite 4. His friends were all silently rooting him on. Tobias stood opposite him looking as confident as ever.

"Darkrai, let's go!" Tobias said and released the Pitch Black Pokemon. Ash smirked.

"Primeape, I choose you!" he cried and released an ape like Fighting type. A trainer named Anthony had once offered to help Primeape become a "true P1 Champion" but the Pig Monkey Pokemon was already a P1 Champion and the belt he wore proved it, so Ash had turned down the offer.

"Trainers begin!" called the referee.

"Primeape use Stone Edge!" ordered Ash and Primeape formed sharp stones around its body and sent them flying towards Darkrai.

"Dodge it and use Dark Void!" ordered Tobias and Darkrai darted up to avoid Stone Edge and formed a black orb before throwing it at Primeape. The orb expanded but when it faded, Primeape just smirked at Darkrai.

"Use Cross Chop!" ordered Ash, hoping that Primeape's immunity to Dark Void had caught Tobias off guard. Primeape crossed his arms and leapt towards Primeape but Tobias was unfazed.

"Dodge and then use Ice Beam!" he ordered and Darkrai darted behind Primeape, then blasted him with Ice Beam at close range, knocking him to the ground and freezing him.

"Primeape!" yelled Ash.

"I've battled Pokemon with Vital Spirit before, Ash," Tobias informed him, "I just needed to confirm that was Primeape's Ability. Focus Blast!" Darkrai fired a powerful blue Focus Blast at the frozen Primeape, smashing him out of the ice and sending him flying.

"Tobias was one step ahead of Ash," Brock said and Harry, Dawn and Holly nodded. Lucario was silent as he watched the battle.

"Come on Primeape, show that Darkrai how tough you are!" Ash encouraged and Primeape forced himself onto his feet and glared at Darkrai, "Close Combat!" Primeape lunged and started punching and kicking Darkrai relentlessly.

"Dark Pulse!" ordered Tobias and Darkrai blasted Primeape with Dark Pulse at point blank range, knocking him out.

"Primeape is unable to battle, Darkrai wins!" cried the referee. Ash recalled Primeape.

"Thanks Primeape you were awesome," he said, "Snorlax, I choose you!" His huge Snorlax landed on the battlefield.

"Focus Blast!" ordered Tobias and Darkrai created a blue orb between its hands and hurled it at Snorlax.

"Ice Punch!" ordered Ash and Snorlax's fist became surrounded by ice before it punched the Focus Blast and knocked it straight back into Darkrai, sending the Legendary Pokemon flying. "Snorlax use Giga Impact!" Snorlax surrounded his massive body with a purple orb streaked with yellow and thundered towards Darkrai.

"Dodge it then Dark Void!" ordered Tobias and Darkrai recovered fast enough to avoid Snorlax's massive body. It then used Dark Void which surrounded Snorlax and put him to sleep. "Good, now use Dream Eater!" Darkrai's shadow like clone passed through Snorlax and sucked away his energy. Snorlax then wailed as Bad Dreams kicked in.

"Sleep Talk!" Ash ordered and Snorlax stood up and formed a Shadow Ball between his hands before hurling it at Darkrai. The Shadow Ball exploded but did very little damage.

"Dream Eater!" ordered Tobias again and Darkrai's shadow passed through Snorlax again, sucking away more energy.

"Sleep Talk again!" Ash yelled and Snorlax lunged towards Darkrai, pulling back his mighty fist and smashing a huge Ice Punch into the Legendary Pokemon, freezing it in a block of ice.

"Yes!" cried Dawn.

"Hurry Ash!" bellowed Harry, "Finish it off!"

"Shadow Claw and get out of there, Darkrai!" bellowed Tobias and Darkrai's claws became shrouded in shadows as it struggled to claw its way out of its icy prison.

"Sleep Talk!" yelled Ash and Snorlax used Sleep Talk again to create Giga Impact. Darkrai was halfway free of the ice but Snorlax smashed into it before it could fully escape. Darkrai went sailing across the battlefield and slammed into the wall before collapsing to the ground.

"Darkrai is unable to battle, Snorlax wins!"

"Incredible!" yelled the commentator, "Ash defeated Tobias' Darkrai with only two Pokemon!" The crowd cheered wildly. The cheering was so loud that Snorlax woke up, scratched his head and looked around, before glancing back at Ash who was beaming at him.

"Only you could beat a Darkrai in your sleep, Snorlax," he said proudly and Snorlax beamed.

"Well done," Tobias said as he recalled Darkrai, "Apart from Pyramid King Brandon, no trainer has ever defeated Darkrai without using at least three Pokemon in order to do so. Go Latias!" Latias burst out of her Poke Ball and hovered calmly in front of her trainer.

"Snorlax return," Ash said and recalled the Sleeping Pokémon, "Glalie I choose you!" Glalie appeared and hovered in front of Latias.

"An Ice type," Tobias said, "Good choice albeit predictable. Use Thunderbolt!" Latias fired a powerful bolt of electricity towards Glalie.

"Double Team!" ordered Ash and Glalie split into a dozen copies which surrounded Latias.

"Draco Meteor!" Tobias ordered and Latias fired a Draco Meteor into the air. The meteors burst out of it and destroyed Glalie's entire Double Team, also hitting Glalie himself, "Now Hyper Beam!"

"Tiiiiaas!" cried Latias as soon as she spotted the real Glalie getting hit by one of the Draco Meteors. She fired a massive yellow beam which was exactly what Ash had been waiting for.

"Protect!" he shouted and Glalie surrounded himself with a blue barrier, causing Hyper Beam to explode harmlessly against his shield, "Good job now give 'em an Ice Beam!"

"Glalie!" cried Glalie forming a blue orb in between the horns on his head and then firing it at Latias. The Eon Pokémon screamed in pain as she was hit by the super effective attack.

"Follow up with Headbutt!" Ash ordered and Glalie lunged forwards and smashed into Latias.

"Latias, Dragon Claw!" yelled Tobias and Latias turned back to Glalie and her claws became surrounded by blue fire. She slashed Glalie as hard as she could and sent him crashing to the ground.

"Hang in there Glalie!" Ash shouted, "Ice Beam!" Glalie fired another Ice Beam towards Latias.

"Dodge it and use Mist Ball!" ordered Tobias and Latias ascended above the Ice Beam and fired an orb of mist which slammed into Glalie and shrouded him in mist. When it cleared, Glalie was revealed to be unconscious.

"Glalie is unable to battle, Latias wins!"

"Great job Glalie, you get some rest," Ash said, "Pikachu, ready to go!" Pikachu nodded and darted forwards to face Latias, "Use Thunder!" Pikachu fired a huge blast of electricity at Latias who screamed when the attack hit her.

"Latias Recover!" Tobias shouted and Latias glowed yellow and healed herself before glaring at Pikachu, "Now use Mist Ball!"

"Pikachu Light Screen!" Ash countered as Latias fired Mist Ball. Pikachu created a yellow screen and the Mist Ball slammed into it, shrouding him in mist, "Now Quick Attack!" Pikachu shot towards Latias and slammed into her, knocking her backwards.

"Dragon Claw!" ordered Tobias and Latias slashed Pikachu with Dragon Claw, knocking him off his feet, "Now get close and use Hyper Beam!" Latias lunged towards Pikachu intending to hit him with Hyper Beam at point blank range.

"Dodge with Quick Attack!" Ash ordered and Pikachu darted away, feeling the energy from Hyper Beam even though he had avoided being hit by it. Tobias and Latias both gritted their teeth in irritation, "Now use Volt Tackle!"

"Pika, Pika, Pika, Pika, PIKA!" cried Pikachu, turning around and lunging towards Latias, smashing into her with a powerful Volt Tackle.

"Good job now Thunderbolt!" Ash ordered and Pikachu fired an electrical blast at Latias.

"Dodge it and use Mist Ball!" ordered Tobias and Latias flew over the Thunderbolt, then dived before firing a Mist Ball which slammed into Pikachu's Light Screen, shrouding him in mist, "Now Dragon Claw!"

"Lati!" cried Latias and lunged towards Pikachu, eager to finish the battle.

"Pikachu dodge and jump on Latias!" Ash shouted and Pikachu narrowly avoided Latias' claws and sprang onto her back, "Thunder!" Pikachu unleashed a huge Thunder at point blank range and Latias shrieked in pain.

"Latias' Dragon type characteristics give her resistance to Electric attacks," Brock said, "But even so using Thunder at close range will do a lot of damage."

"Latias use Recover then throw Pikachu off!" bellowed Tobias and Latias glowed yellow and healed herself before flying all over the battlefield, doing her best to shake Pikachu off.

"Thunder!" Ash shouted and Pikachu blasted Latias with another close range Thunder attack. Latias screamed in pain and anger, her calm demeanour fading and being replaced by frustration as she tried to throw Pikachu off her back.

"Latias ascend!" yelled Tobias and Latias flew straight up.

"Pikachu Thunder again!" Ash yelled and Pikachu sent another huge electric shock into Latias' body. The Eon Pokémon furiously twisted in the air.

"Now descend!" Tobias ordered and Latias suddenly changed direction, diving towards the ground and finally throwing Pikachu off. Pikachu began a very long fall towards the stadium floor.

"Pikachu aim for Latias and use Volt Tackle!" Ash shouted and Pikachu pointed his body straight towards Latias and surrounded himself with electricity.

"Use Hyper Beam!" bellowed Tobias and Latias aimed Hyper Beam straight towards the descending Pikachu, who was no longer protected by his Light Screen.

"Iron Tail!" Ash yelled and Pikachu, still in his Volt Tackle, started somersaulting, using both Volt Tackle and Iron Tail at the same time as he forced his way through Latias' Hyper Beam. Tobias watched in disbelief while Latias narrowed her eyes and increased the intensity of her attack. As soon as Pikachu's Volt Tail touched the orb from which the Hyper Beam had been fired, there was a massive explosion.

When the smoke cleared Pikachu and Latias were both lying on the ground, unmoving.

"Pikachu and Latias are both unable to battle!"

Ash hurried onto the battlefield and picked up Pikachu. Tobias recalled Latias murmuring, "Good job." He took out another Poke Ball and looked at Ash as he set Pikachu gently down on the ground.

"Awesome job Pikachu," Ash said, "You deserve a good rest." He turned back to Tobias.

"At this rate Ash, it seems that you might force me to use some of my non-Legendaries," Tobias said "But you'll have to get past Latios first. Let's go!" Latios burst out, joyfully doing a loop of the stadium before hovering in front of Tobias.

"Alright if this is your last Legendary Pokémon then I choose Charizard!" Ash shouted and Charizard burst out of his Poke Ball and roared.

"A Charizard?" Harry said in surprise, "How come Ash never said he has a Charizard!"

"Because Charizard doesn't live at Professor Oaks lab," Brock told him, "He spends most of his time in the Characific Valley."

"Where's that?" asked Dawn.

"In the Johto region," Brock replied while Harry took out his pokedex.

" _Charizard the Flame Pokémon and the final form of Charmander. It flies through the sky in search of powerful opponents and is capable of melting boulders with its intensely powerful flames._ "

"Charizard Flamethrower!" Ash ordered and Charizard fired a huge stream of flames from his mouth.

"Latios Luster Purge!" Tobias countered and Latios shot out a huge purple beam which collided with Flamethrower and created an explosion.

"Charizard Steel Wing!" ordered Ash and Charizard's wings glowed and hardened as he lunged at Latios.

"Dodge it and use Draco Meteor!" ordered Tobias and Latios flew over Charizard before turning and firing a Draco Meteor into the air.

"Dodge it!" Ash yelled and Charizard moved with impressive speed, darting between the meteors. Unsurprisingly Latios darted forwards to intercept him but Ash had seen him do that against Harry's Lucario.

"Latios use Luster Purge!" Tobias ordered.

"Slash!" Ash ordered and as Latios formed Luster Purge, Charizard lunged fearlessly towards him and slashed him across the face, causing the attack to misfire, "Alright now use Seismic Toss!" Charizard grabbed hold of Latios and ascended before circling through the air, diving and smashing the Legendary Pokémon into the ground, throwing a cloud of dust into the air.

"Latios!" cried Latios and the dust cleared to reveal him hovering in the air, battered and bruised but far from defeated.

"Now Recover!" Tobias ordered and Latios glowed gold and his injuries faded away. Charizard just smirked, pleased to have found an opponent strong enough to endure Seismic Toss.

"Alright Charizard time to show them Dragon Pulse!" Ash ordered and Charizard fired draconic energy from his mouth, which took the shape of a dragons jaws and slammed shut on Latios, exploding on contact.

"Latios Luster Purge!" ordered Tobias and Latios fired another purplish beam at Charizard.

"Dodge it and use Slash!" Ash shouted and Charizard ascended before lunging towards Latios.

"Dragon Claw!" ordered Tobias and both Pokémon slashed each other at the same time, knocking each other away, "Now Recover!" Latios glowed gold and healed himself again.

"Charizard Dragon Pulse once more!" Ash shouted and Charizard fired more draconic energy from his mouth but this time Tobias was ready for it.

"Dragon Claw!" he ordered and Latios charged straight towards the Dragon Pulse and tore the dragon apart before continuing towards the shocked Charizard and slashing him across the face, "Now keep using Dragon Claw!"

"Charizard, keep using Slash!" Ash ordered and just like Vespiquen and Latias had done, Charizard and Latios started a ferocious flurry of Dragon Claws and Slashes, circling around each other and attacking relentlessly.

"Latios back off and use Recover!" ordered Tobias and Latios suddenly stopped his assault, ducked beneath another Slash and darted away to heal himself. Charizard wasn't about to let him escape that easily though and slashed his side even as Recover was restoring his energy, "Now Shadow Ball!"

"Lati!" cried Latios as he fired Shadow Ball at Charizard, sending him tumbling towards the ground.

"Charizard Fire Spin attack!" Ash ordered and Charizard regained his balance and shot out a powerful spiral of flames which twisted around Latios.

"Latios let's finish this with Giga Impact!" bellowed Tobias and the Fire Spin around Latios turned purple as he dived at Charizard.

"Charizard land and brace yourself!" Ash shouted and Charizard landed and dug the claws on his feet into the ground before holding out his arms. Latios smashed into him with a flaming Giga Impact, causing the Fire Spin to surround both of them as he drove Charizard back, "Hang in there Charizard! Seismic Toss!"

"Raaah!" Charizard roared, using his claws to anchor himself as the flame on his tail blazed. The Fire Spin around both Pokémon suddenly grew more intense as Charizard's Blaze powered it up and Latios' Giga Impact finally ran out of power, allowing Charizard to lift him into the air, and circle around before diving towards the ground. Charizard smashed Latios into the ground with a flaming Seismic Toss and then flew out of the Fire Spin, landing in front of Ash and glaring at the still spinning flames.

When the Fire Spin died down, Latios lay unmoving on the ground.

"Latios is unable to battle, Charizard wins!"

"Unbelievable!" yelled the commentator as the crowd exploded into applause, "Tobias Darkrai, Latias and Latios have all been defeated and both trainers still have three Pokémon remaining!"

"Way to go Ash!" screamed Dawn, "Keep it up!"

"Good work Latios," said Tobias as he recalled him. He smiled at Ash as he took out another Poke Ball, "Ash you've earned my respect. Only Brandon has ever defeated all of my Legendary Pokémon without using a full team of his own Pokémon. But now it's time for me to reveal my Starter Pokemon. The Pokemon I used to capture Darkrai. Let's go!" The Poke Ball burst open.

"Ninetales!" cried a beautiful fox like Pokemon with nine tails as it landed gracefully on the battlefield.

"A Ninetales huh?" Ash said, "Alright Charizard use Dragon Pulse!" Charizard fired more draconic energy at Ninetales.

"Dodge it and use Retaliate!" ordered Tobias and Ninetails leapt to the side causing the "dragon" to snap its "jaws" on the place where it had just been. Ninetales' cream coloured fur then turned pure white and it lunged and smashed into Charizard, knocking out Ash's strongest Pokemon with a single attack.

"Charizard is unable to battle, Ninetales wins!"

"Brock, explain Retaliate please," Dawn said.

"It's a move that gains more power when used immediately after the previous Pokemon is knocked out," Brock explained and frowned, "And it's also a move that a Ninetales shouldn't be able to learn."

"Charizard return and take a rest," Ash said, "Snorlax you're up." Snorlax burst out of his Poke Ball and towered over Ninetales who looked up at him without flinching.

"Flamethrower!" ordered Tobias and Ninetales fired a stream of flames at Snorlax who grunted and stumbled back, "I'm assuming by that reaction that Snorlax does not have Thick Fat?"

"Snorlax doesn't need it," Ash replied, "Use Shadow Ball!" Snorlax created a Shadow Ball and hurled it at Ninetales. Tobias and Ninetales both smirked.

The Shadow Ball slammed into Ninetales but as soon as the attack made contact, the Fox Pokémon transformed right before everyones eyes. A moment later another fox like Pokemon stood where Ninetales had been, except this one stood on two legs and had a dark grey body and a red mane tipped with black.

"What the…?" Ash gasped, staring at the new Pokemon in confusion. Tobias smirked.

"This is my Zoroark," he said, "He's mated to my Ninetails so he likes to take her form." Ash watched the new Pokemon warily as he took out his Pokedex. Being a good sport, Tobias didn't order Zoroark to attack while Ash scanned the creature.

" _Zoroark the Illusion Fox Pokemon and the evolved form of Zorua. It creates extremely convincing illusions to hide its territory and protect its family, making it almost impossible to find._ "

"Now that the secret's out, Zoroark can do this," Tobias said as Ash put away the pokedex, "Use Night Daze!" Zoroark's arms became surrounded by a crimson aura and he raised them above his head and slammed them down onto the ground. An explosion of crimson energy erupted from around Zoroark and knocked Snorlax off his feet. Ash had to jump aside to avoid being squashed by the massive Pokémon.

"Snorlax is unable to battle, Zoroark wins!"

"Well Tobias is certainly a man full of surprises!" cried the commentator, "Not only does he have three Legendary Pokemon but he fooled us all into thinking his fourth Pokemon was a Ninetails when it was in fact a Zoroark! His clever use of Zoroark's Illusion Ability has forced Ash into a corner as he is now down to his final Pokemon."

"Great job Snorlax," Ash said as he recalled Snorlax, "This battle's not over yet! Sceptile, I choose you!" Sceptile emerged, smirking confidently when he saw Zoroark. Zoroark returned the smirk. "Sceptile use Quick Attack!" Sceptile shot towards Zoroark, leaving a white trail behind.

"Double Team!" ordered Tobias and Zoroark split into a dozen copies and surrounded Sceptile.

"Bullet Seed on all of them!" ordered Ash and Sceptile sprayed the entire Double Team with Bullet Seed, spinning on the spot in order to hit all of them.

The real Zoroark had completely disappeared.

"Shadow Claw!" cried Tobias and Zoroark reappeared on Sceptile's left and slashed him with Shadow Claw, sending him sprawling. Sceptile quickly recovered and spun to face Zoroark as Tobias gave his next command. "Now use Flamethrower!" Zoroark shot a stream of flames at Sceptile.

"Dodge then Quick Attack!" cried Ash and Sceptile narrowly avoided the Flamethrower and lunged at Zoroark.

"Double Team!" ordered Tobias and once again, Zoroark avoided Quick Attack with Double Team.

"Bullet Seed on all of them!" he ordered and Sceptile destroyed the Double Team with Bullet Seed. Once again Zoroark had used its Illusion Ability to make itself invisible.

"Shadow Claw!" ordered Tobias and Zoroark reappeared on Sceptile's right and lunged.

"Dodge with Quick Attack!" yelled Ash and Sceptile shot away from Zoroark.

"Stop it with fire!" ordered Tobias and Zoroark used Illusion to create a wall of fire in front of Sceptile, who skidded to a halt. It took Sceptile a moment to realize that the "flames" had no heat because they weren't really there. However Zoroark's next attack had a rather considerable amount of heat. "Flamethrower!"

"Roar!" cried Zoroark and fired Flamethrower causing Sceptile to screech in pain.

"Sceptile use Leaf Blade!" yelled Ash and Sceptile lunged at Zoroark, the leaves on his arms extending and glowing bright green.

"Double Team!" ordered Tobias and Zoroark created more illusions and went invisible. Sceptile screeched in frustration, demanding that Zoroark face him, Pokemon to Pokemon. Ash knew Tobias was expecting him to use Bullet Seed again but he also knew that Zoroark was somewhere else on the battlefield. Ignoring Double Team completely, he scanned the field for any sign of the Illusion Fox Pokemon. This Zoroark evidently had an incredible mastery of Illusions to be able to make himself invisible. Getting tired of waiting for a counterattack, Tobias commanded, "Shadow Claw!"

"Zor!" cried Zoroark and all the illusions lunged. Sceptile's eyes glowed green. He didn't flinch as every illusion passed through him and the real Zoroark appeared on his left and thrust forwards with his claws. Ash noticed Sceptile's eyes glowing and recognized the move. Sceptile shifted ever so slightly and the Shadow Claw missed by inches. Ash seized his chance.

"Pound!" he ordered and Sceptile swung his tail and knocked the surprised Zoroark off his feet.

"What?" gasped Tobias, shocked that Sceptile had seen through the Illusion.

"That's great that you learned Detect, Sceptile!" Ash cheered. Tobias grunted in annoyance.

"Zoroark grow!" he ordered. Everyone except Zoroark was confused by this command until the Illusion Fox Pokemon seemed to grow larger. People in the stands screamed as Zoroark grew taller than the stadium walls. Several people cowered from the giant Pokemon.

Sceptile looked up at Zoroark with an unimpressed expression.

"Shadow Claw!" ordered Tobias and the giant Zoroark thrust its claws at Sceptile.

"Detect!" Ash shouted. Sceptile didn't flinch as the Illusion Shadow Claw passed through him. It was only when the real Zoroark attacked that he moved, shifting just a little so that Shadow Claw missed him by an inch, "Pound!" Sceptile spun around and slammed his tail into Zoroak again, throwing him to the ground, "Bullet Seed!"

"Ti, ti, ti, ti, ti!" cried Sceptile, shooting Bullet Seed towards Zoroark.

"Flamethrower!" ordered Tobias and Zoroark incinerated the Bullet Seed with a stream of flames which then hit Sceptile and sent him crashing to the ground. Sceptile struggled to his feet, "Now use Night Daze!" Zoroark's arms became surrounded by a crimson aura and he slammed them into the ground, sending another huge blast of Dark energy across the battlefield. Sceptile was knocked off his feet by the attack.

"Hang in there Sceptile!" Ash shouted. Sceptile struggled to his feet and glared at Zoroark.

"Sceeeptile!" he yelled and glowed green as Overgrow activated.

"Alright Sceptile use Leaf Blade!" Ash ordered and Sceptile's leaves extended and sharpened as he leapt towards Zoroark.

"Shadow Claw!" Tobias bellowed and Zoroark's claws glowed with shadowy energy and extended as he leapt at Sceptile. The two Pokemon slashed at each other in mid-air and landed on opposite sides of the battlefield.

There was a long silence.

Sceptile and Zoroark looked at each other out of the corners of their eyes, silently willing the other to faint first.

Finally Zoroark collapsed.

"Zoroark is unable to battle, Sceptile wins!"

Tobias stared at his fallen Starter Pokemon in shock for a moment, then smiled slightly as he recalled him saying; "Excellent work, old friend," he looked at Ash and Sceptile, the latter of whom was injured and exhausted but still on his feet. "Ash, I must admit that my Zoroark has not lost a battle in years. Your Sceptile is quite remarkable. But it doesn't stand a chance against Ninetales. Go!"

"Ninetales!" said a real Ninetales as she emerged. As soon as she did, the sunlight above grew unnaturally bright. Sceptile and Ash shielded their eyes.

"You're witnessing Ninetales' Drought Ability," Tobias said, unbothered by the scorching sun, "You see in my home region, there are some Pokemon who have Abilities that the same species from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn or Sinnoh do not possess. We call them Hidden Abilities."

"Well my Sceptile's just fine with the Ability he has," Ash said, "Let's show 'em, Sceptile! Solarbeam full power!" Sceptile absorbed sunlight in the orbs on his back very quickly, his tail glowed white and he opened his mouth and fired an Overgrow boosted Solarbeam all in the span of one second.

"Fire Blast!" Tobias bellowed and Ninetales unleashed a massive star of fire from her mouth which collided with Solarbeam. Although Fire Blast was boosted by Drought, Sceptile's Overgrow did the same thing for Solarbeam and since both attacks were equally powerful, neither one could overpower the other. A huge explosion blasted through the stadium. Ash and Tobias shielded themselves, coughing slightly from the smoke.

When the smoke cleared, Sceptile and Ninetales glared at each other angrily.

Then Sceptile fainted.

"Sceptile is unable to battle!" cried the referee, "Ninetales wins and that makes Tobias this year's winner of the Lily of the Valley Conference!"

"You were awesome, Sceptile," Ash said, going over to Sceptile instead of immediately returning him to his Poke Ball. The Forest Pokemon was too exhausted to move but he managed to open his eyes and give his trainer a weak smile, "With your help, we took out all three of Tobias' Legendary Pokemon _and_ his Starter Pokemon. You deserve a nice long rest." Ash recalled Sceptile a Tobias strode towards him with Ninetales by his side.

"Ash, I can't remember the last time I had such an enjoyable battle," Tobias told him, "It was even better than my battle against the Pyramid King. I thank you."

"Thank you too," Ash replied, "And good luck against the Elite 4." The two trainers shook hands.

* * *

"Well folks we have come to the end of another exciting Sinnoh League Tournament!" announced the commentator as the crowd watched Tobias stand with Cynthia and Charles Goodshow in front of the giant flame. Fireworks were exploding in the background, "Now Cynthia will present our victory Tobias with the Winners Trophy."

"Congratulations Tobias," Cynthia said as she gave him the trophy, "I hope I get a chance to battle you in the Champion League soon."

"As do I," Tobias replied, "I'm sure it will be a spectacular battle." Cynthia nodded and stepped away while Tobias raised his free hand to the cheering crowd. Then they turned to watch the torch being extinguished, marking the end of the Sinnoh League.


	71. Goodbye

Harry stood with Lucario on the boat that was taking them home. Conveniently Ash, Brock and Dawn were all on the same boat. Dawn and Ash were doing some training together and Brock met Harry and Lucario on the deck.

"Hi Brock," Harry said, "Finished phone flirting with your girlfriend?"

"Yep," Brock said, "I just wish she was actually here."

"How is she?" Harry asked.

"She's fine," Brock said, "But she's not sure if she's willing to travel all the way to Kanto. We might have to have a long distance relationship."

" _Well at least it'll be a relationship_ ," Lucario said but Brock couldn't hear him.

"Lucario says at least it'll be a relationship," Harry informed Brock.

"You know Ash and I met a Lucario who could talk telepathically once," Brock said, "He had no trouble talking to a whole group of people."

" _I suppose my aura's not strong enough yet,_ " Lucario said.

"Do you think that other Lucario had to practice before he could communicate with people without Aura?" Harry asked.

"I assume so," Brock said, "Obviously you're Lucario's got very little experience at using telepathy, so I guess he just needs more practice."

"I can hear him," Ash said as he arrived with Pikachu, surprisingly, walking beside him instead of on his shoulder. Dawn also arrived with Piplup perched on her head.

"Yeah well you have Aura," Harry said.

"I wish I had that ability," Dawn muttered.

"Hey Ash shall we have a sparring match?" asked Harry, "Staring out to sea gets boring after a while."

"Oh look a Mantine!" Dawn said pointing to a Mantine who had leapt out of the water and glided briefly before diving back into the sea.

"Except for when Pokémon jump out of it," Harry added.

"Hey I'm always up for a battle," Ash said shrugging.

"Alright then," Harry said, "Lucario?" Lucario nodded.

"Pikachu?" Ash said and Pikachu nodded. The two Pokémon faced each other on the deck. A few other passengers gathered around to watch.

"Lucario Aura Sphere!" Harry ordered and Lucario threw an Aura Sphere at Pikachu.

"Pikachu Light Screen!" Ash called and Pikachu created a yellow screen to block the attack.

"Use Brick Break!" Harry ordered and Lucario sprang towards Pikachu, bringing his hand down in a powerful chop.

"Dodge it and use Thunderbolt!" Ash ordered and Pikachu sprang to the side and leapt into the air before sending a Thunderbolt straight into Lucario's body.

"Lucario Metal Claw!" Harry ordered and Lucario quickly recovered from the electric shock and slashed Pikachu with Metal Claw sending him skidding across the deck. Pikachu rolled over and was on his feet again in seconds.

"Pikachu use Thunder!" Ash ordered and Pikachu shot a huge electric shock towards Lucario.

"Quick Attack!" Harry called and Lucario darted forwards, dodged Thunder and then slammed into Pikachu. Pikachu nearly went flying off the ship but grabbed the railing and pulled himself back on before springing towards Lucario.

"Pikachu Iron Tail!" Ash ordered and Pikachu somersaulted and slammed an Iron Tail onto Lucario's skull. Lucario grunted but his head was literally much harder than it had been as a Riolu thanks to his new Steel typing. Pikachu somersaulted over him and landed behind Lucario.

"Metal Claw!" Harry called and Lucario spun around, lashing out with Metal Claw.

"Dodge it!" Ash shouted and Pikachu leaped away. Lucario's Metal Claw left three scratches on the boats deck in the place where Pikachu had just been, "Pikachu Thunderbolt!"

"Aura Sphere!" Harry countered and both attacks collided and exploded. Ash smirked slightly as he noted that they were evenly matched, "Lucario Brick Break!"

"Iron Tail!" Ash shouted and Lucario leapt towards Pikachu who twisted around and slammed Iron Tail into Lucario's Brick Break.

"Force Palm!" Harry ordered and Lucario reached out with his free hand.

"Dodge with Quick Attack!" Ash ordered and Pikachu shot away, causing Lucario to stumble and the Force Palm to slam into the floor. There was an explosion but Pikachu had successfully escaped from the Force Palm.

"Go after it with Quick Attack!" Harry ordered and Lucario shot after Pikachu, seemingly undamaged from the explosion, and slammed into him. Then Lucario grimaced as sparks surrounded his body. Ash and Pikachu both grinned as Static paralyzed Lucario.

"Pikachu Thunder!" Ash ordered and Pikachu shot a huge electric blast at Lucario.

"Quick Aura Sphere!" Harry countered and Lucario, despite being paralyzed, managed to fire an Aura Sphere. However since Thunder was even stronger than Thunderbolt, the electricity blasted through Aura Sphere and gave Lucario a huge electric shock.

"Pikachu Volt Tackle go!" Ash ordered and Pikachu charged forwards, surrounded himself with electricity and smashed into Lucario, knocking him off his feet. Pikachu winced as the recoil damage kicked in.

"Lucario is unable to battle, Pikachu wins!" announced Brock, "That means Ash is the winner!" The crowd who had gathered clapped enthusiastically. Harry went over to Lucario.

"You okay?" he asked.

" _Well I'm having trouble getting my muscles to cooperate but I'll be fine,_ " Lucario replied. He looked at Pikachu, " _You know Pikachu, I think y_ _ou're as powerful as you can get in your current stage._ "

"Pika," Pikachu replied, understanding what Lucario was hinting at. It was something he'd been considering himself ever since his victory over Volkner's Raichu. He'd beaten a Regice, drawn with a Latias and defeated three Raichu so there was nothing left for him to prove as a Pikachu. He'd even started following Ash around instead of riding on his shoulder.

Ash looked at Pikachu. He didn't really want Pikachu to evolve but it was the Mouse Pokémon's choice. He still had the Thunder Stone he had received nearly six years ago in Vermillion City but had only seriously considered using it once since then.

"Hey guys!" said Dawn, pointing ahead as dry land became visible on the horizon, "We're nearly there!"

* * *

When the group arrived on the docks of Sandgem Town, they were met by Professor Rowan, Harry's parents and Johanna.

"Mum!" cried Dawn hurrying to Johanna, "I didn't know you'd be here!"

"Well I thought you and your friends might want to spend time at Professor Rowan's lab so I decided to meet you here instead of wait at home," Johanna replied hugging her daughter.

"Hey kiddo," Harry's father said and he and his mother both hugged him, "Congratulations on getting so far in the Pokémon League."

"And on defeating two Legendary Pokémon," his mother added.

"Thanks," Harry said, "By the way you haven't met my friends yet." He stepped back and Ash and Brock came forwards to introduce themselves.

"Hi I'm Ash," Ash said.

"And I'm Brock," Brock added.

"And I'm Dawn," Dawn added, leaving her mother's side and going to Harry's parents.

"Pleased to meet all of you," Harry's mother said, "I'm Antonia and this is my husband Richard." Richard shook hands with Ash, Dawn, Brock and even Lucario while Antonia knelt down to say hello to Pikachu and Piplup.

"This is a nice family reunion," said Professor Rowan as Harry went over to hug him. The old man then looked at Lucario, "I see that the little Riolu I gave you has really grown."

" _Thank you,_ " Lucario said but Rowan couldn't hear him.

"Lucario says thank you," Harry translated, "He can talk to me telepathically."

"Really?" said Richard.

"Yep," Harry said cheerfully, "We're that close. Plus having Aura helps."

"Aura?" said Antonia.

"I should have known you'd have that power," said Richard, "It skipped my generation but your grandmother had that ability."

"You never told me that," Harry said.

"I'm telling you now," Richard replied. At that moment Ash's stomach rumbled. Everyone looked at him.

"Sorry," Ash said sheepishly, "I'm hungry."

"How about we have a picnic in my garden?" said Rowan, "I'm sure your Pokémon would be pleased to see you, Harry."

"Sounds good to me," Harry said.

* * *

Professor Rowan's garden didn't only have Harry's Pokémon there but also Pokémon that had been caught by other trainers. Some of them were even the same species as Harry's Pokémon. However those Pokémon ignored his arrival. His own Pokémon immediately came to greet him.

"Char!" cried Chimchar leaping onto Harry's shoulder. Drifblim floated towards him to give him a hug. Spiritomb gave one of his warm but wicked looking smiles and Floatzel gave him a punch on the shoulder. Harry even noticed that Luxray and Drapion were willing to be within ten feet of each other without becoming aggressive.

"Hi guys," Harry said then let out Garchomp, Glaceon, Leafeon, Vespiquen and Bronzong. Ash, Dawn and Brock also let out their own Pokémon. Chimchar quickly jumped from Harry's shoulder onto Infernape's shoulder. Spiritomb smiled at Pikachu who smiled back. The rest of the Pokémon just started mingling with each other.

While the Pokémon interacted, the humans made a picnic to have outside. They also brought out plenty of Pokémon food, even offering some to the Pokémon who didn't need it such as Bronzong, Spiritomb and Drifblim. Johanna, Antonia and Richard started chatting about their children's younger years. Professor Rowan remained quiet while they were conversing and Harry, Ash, Dawn and Brock got a fair amount of food inside them before they felt ready to talk.

"Hey Professor," Ash said, "How's Gary doing?"

"He's doing well," Rowan replied, "He's currently on an assignment to study how an Eevee evolves into Glaceon."

"That's easy," Harry said nodding to his own Glaceon who was chasing her brother. Despite Leafeon's normal seriousness, he could be playful around his sister, "They just touch an ice rock."

"Yes but _how_ does the ice rock activate an Eevee's evolution?" Rowan said, "Furthermore why is Eevee the only Pokémon that evolves when it touches it? That's what Gary is studying. In fact when he returns, would you mind if he studied your Glaceon?"

"As long as Glaceon's okay with it, I don't mind," Harry said.

"So boys," Dawn said, "What are you going to do now that the Pokémon League's over?"

"I'm not sure," Ash said, "But Tobias mentioned that his home region had Pokémon with Hidden Abilities. And he had that awesome Zoroark, which I guess is from the same region."

"Which region is that anyway?" asked Harry.

"Probably Unova," said Rowan, "That region is one of the only places where you can find a Zoroark or Pokémon with Hidden Abilities."

"Do they have contests there?" asked Dawn.

"No," Rowan said.

"Oh," Dawn looked crestfallen.

"They have them in Kanto though," Brock said, "Ash and I will be going back there soon."

"Yeah but I don't think I'll stay long," Ash said, "Not when there are Pokémon like Zoroark waiting for me in Unova."

"Unova does sound like a cool region," Harry said, "But if there aren't any contests there..."

"Then there's not much point in me going with you," Dawn said sadly.

"Lup," Piplup said and looked at Pikachu and Lucario who looked back at him sadly.

"What about you, Brock?" asked Harry.

"To be honest, I think I've done enough travelling for the time being," Brock admitted, "Besides now that I've finally got a girlfriend, I need to work on our relationship."

"Didn't you say it was going to be a long distance one?" Harry said.

"I said it _might_ be a long distance one," Brock corrected him, "Holly might be willing to travel to Kanto but we'll have to see."

"It's about time you got a girlfriend, Brock," Ash said, "The last time you had a relationship was with Professor Ivy."

"Yeah," Brock said, "That didn't end well. But hopefully Holly and I can make it work."

"Well good luck," Harry said.

* * *

The group stayed the night at either Harry's parents or Professor Rowan's place since their homes were too small to house eight people. Although Pikachu and Piplup were small enough to curl up on Ash and Dawn's beds, Lucario's evolution had made him too big so he slept on the floor, which would be uncomfortable for a human but was fine for the Aura Pokémon.

The next day Harry's parents, Rowan and Johanna decided to give Harry, Ash, Dawn and Brock some alone time. Ash and Brock were scheduled to leave at four in the afternoon but before that they were watching an interview with Elite 4 member Bertha.

"So Bertha," said the interviewer, "After twenty years of being a member of the Elite 4, are you upset to be leaving that behind?"

"Not really," Bertha replied, "Tobias beat me fair and square. When you've been one of the top five trainers in the region for as long as I have, it becomes quite a relief to be able to step down and let the younger generation take over."

"You didn't actually have to retire," the interviewer said, "After all Aaron was the first Elite 4 member to lose to Tobias."

"Yes but he's also been a member for the shortest amount of time," Bertha said, "Besides I've felt ready to retire for a while now, so there was no need to force Aaron to lose his position."

"It was kind of you to allow him to keep it," the interviewer said, "So what do you think Tobias' chances are of defeating Flint?"

"Well we'll just have to watch the battle and see won't we?" Bertha replied.

The battle between Tobias and Flint was broadcast only a short time after Bertha's interview. It was a long, difficult battle for both men but eventually Tobias and Flint were both down to their last Pokémon.

"Swampert use Muddy Water!" ordered Tobias and his large Mud Fish Pokémon summoned a powerful wave of brown water.

"Magmortar Sunny Day!" cried Flint and Magmortar made the sunlight above brighter, weakening the Muddy Water although it still caused the Blast Pokémon to stumble.

"Earthquake!" ordered Tobias and Swampert stomped hard on the ground, causing it to shake violently, "Now finish it with Hammer Arm!" Swampert's powerful arms glowed white and it charged with surprising speed towards Magmortar, who had barely had time to recover from Earthquake.

"Flamethrower on the ground!" Flint ordered and Magmortar pointed its cannons straight down and used Flamethrower to propel itself into the air like a rocket. Swampert's Hammer Arm missed and it looked up at Magmortar in shock before shielding its eyes from the bright sunlight, "Solarbeam!"

"Magmortar!" boomed Magmortar' raising its arms and absorbing sunlight into its cannons before aiming them down at Swampert and unleashing a massive Solarbeam. There was a huge explosion when the Solarbeam landed on Swampert. Magmortar landed and watched the smoke, one cannon aimed towards it, ready to fire another attack if necessary.

"Swampert is unable to battle, Magmortar wins!" cried the referee, "The victory goes to Elite 4 member Flint!"

"Wow the Elite 4 really are strong," Harry said, "Even with three Legendary Pokémon, Tobias couldn't beat Flint."

"Yeah," Brock said, "And Tobias needs to get past both him and Lucian before he can battle Cynthia."

"Well he's a member of the Elite 4 now," Ash said, "So he can challenge Flint again. I can't wait until I get into a Champion League."

"You have to win a Pokémon League first," Harry said.

"That's what I'm going to do," Ash said and looked at Pikachu.

"Pi Pikachu," Pikachu said confidently.

"By the way," Harry said, "Have you decided whether Pikachu's ready to evolve?" Ash and Pikachu went quiet, "Sorry. I know that's a big decision."

"Well Pikachu's been considering it since he beat Volkner's Raichu," Ash said, "We'll make up our minds when we get back to Pallet Town."

"Speaking of which, our boat's going to be leaving soon," Brock said, switching off the television.

* * *

The group went to the docks together and arrived at the boat. Ash and Brock turned to their younger friends.

"Well," Harry said awkwardly, "I've never been great at goodbyes but... goodbye."

"Hey we'll see each other again," Ash said.

"Yeah," Brock said, "And thank you to both of you. It's been a great journey."

"I'm gonna miss you," Dawn said. Pikachu, Piplup and Lucario all had a group hug, or rather Lucario lifted Pikachu and Piplup so he could hug them both like dolls. The Aura Pokémon put the smaller creatures down and Pikachu and Piplup high fived. Dawn and Ash looked at their Pokémon, then at each other. Dawn held up a hand.

"No need to worry," Ash said and gave her a high five. He then turned to Harry, who shrugged and decided to do the same.

"I'll probably see you in Unova," Harry said.

"I hope so," Ash said, "And if not then good luck anyway."

"You too," Harry replied.

"You'd better hurry or you'll be late," Dawn said softly. Ash and Brock nodded.

"Bye," Brock said, "Come an visit me in Pewter City sometime."

"I will," Dawn said.

"And I expect I'll travel through Kanto at some point so I'll see you then," Harry said. Brock nodded and climbed up the ramp onto the boat. Ash smiled at Harry and Dawn and then he and Pikachu followed. The boat started to drift away from the harbour. Harry, Dawn, Lucario and Piplup waved until it was just a dot on the horizon.

"Well," Harry said at last, "I guess you'll be going home now."

"Right," Dawn said, "But that's only a couple of miles away."

"I'll visit you before I leave for Unova," Harry said, "I want to spend some time with my family first."

"Yeah," Dawn said. Then she hugged him. Harry hugged her back. They had done this before but it had never felt as natural as it did now. Dawn pulled away and smiled. Harry smiled back. Then he noticed Johanna waiting for Dawn.

"You're mum's waiting for you," Harry said, "I'll see you soon."

"Okay," Dawn said, "Goodbye."

 **I'm not very good at goodbyes so I hope this was satisfactory. This story is now over. I haven't started Unova but if I decide to continue the series, that's the next region Harry will be going to.**

 **Thank you all.**


End file.
